What happens when past meets present?
by birdie83earth
Summary: Toph and Aang travel to the swamp after a vision leads Aang there. What happens when the benders enter a whole new time? How do they get back home? And can Toph do it without killing Aang? Taang. Rated for safety and language.
1. Murky Waters equals Pain for the Avatar

**First fanfic. Whoopdedoo, right? just kidding. I'm so excited to finally be writing this story. **

**Things to engrave inside your skull:**

**1. Toph is still blind no matter how much I want to give her sight, it just cannot be. Sigh. Well, then again….**

**2. Bending is allowed…in a way.**

**3. This is a Taang fic set in two different time periods with mentions of Zutara and Sokka and Suki.**

**4. Have fun while reading this, even if the beginning is kinda iffy. **

**DISCLAIMER!!! : I do not own the Avatar: the last airbender or it's characters. Simple and to the point right?**

**Oh, and sorry if Toph is a little violent. Its what happens when she's irritated.**

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**TOPH'S POV**

"Where are we Twinkle toes?!" I yelled at the monk beside me who was guiding me through a nasty smelling swamp. I felt him hesitate as he muttered nervously to himself. I stopped walking and so did he.

"You don't know where we are." It wasn't a question and it wasn't a statement; it was more like an accusation.

I heard him open and close his mouth as he tried to come up with something to say.

"I cannot believe you!" I screamed into swamp air. "You drag me out here without so much as an _ex_planation and you get us lost?! I could've stayed back in the Fire Nation with Princess and Sweetness and General Lee but I came here with _you_. I've been thigh-high in swamp goo for a million years! The stupid war didn't even last this long."

And, of course, being the All Mighty Avatar that he is, he only caught the last part of my short, little tirade.

"Hey! I came back didn't I? Even after a hundred years, I was still needed. And I saved the--"

"Whatever. I want to go now." I was already in a bad mood and I was in no hurry to listen to his little I-saved-the-world speech. I knew I had hit a soft spot but excuse me: He had to get over it! I mean, I know he came back. I know he saved the freaking world. I know it all because I was there! Can't he just let bygones be bygones? "Lead me to the nearest slab of rock so we can make camp," I ordered.

"But-"

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him to my side. "Camp. Now." I pushed him away a bit too hard and I had a small smirk plastered on my face as I heard him splash around the in the swampy goop.

"That wasn't necessary you know."

I shrugged his comment off because, frankly, I didn't care.

"My feet hurt and I need to rest. Plus I think this goop is starting to dry and I'm going to get a rash on my thighs if I'm not out of here in the next hour."

I knew he was standing beside me so I shot my arm out towards my right. Twinkles yelped in pain.

"Now you better get moving before you have a broken arm to match that bruise."

"That was my rib!" he whined.

Holding a fist in the air I said, "Next time it's going to be your face if you don't get a move on."

My threat worked perfectly as Monk Boy started to walk a bit faster through the swamp. I would have to thank General Lee when I get back to the Fire Nation. You might be confused as to why I was getting back to the Fire Nation instead of the Earth Kingdom. Well, Fire Lord Zuko/Princess, thought that I could help settle the new Fire Nation troops into good individuals who don't want to attack other Nations. So far, it's been working, although there was one that had a bit of trouble adjusting to a fixed state of mind, but I've made sure that during my absence, he was getting it beat out of him.

Literally. Like if he even said one bad word about the other nations then he'd totally get his butt kicked. Okay, now I'm rambling.

I wish I was back on firm ground with Blowfish (General Lee), who never treated me as a small, delicate flower, but as a warrior should be treated. I was the Greatest Earthbender in the world for Spirit's sake. I sighed as that thought made me instantly feel regret:

"Why do _I_ have to go?" I asked Twinkle Puff as he paced around my room nervously.

"I need to have the World's Greatest Earthbender by my side to help me. But, all formalities aside, I miss spending time with my best friend."

I punched his arm because he was going all sappy on me. I didn't say anything so he spoke again.

"C'mon Toph, you trust me don't you?"

After a pause I answered.

"Fine, I'll go. But promise me that you will never go that sentimental and feminine on me again, Twinkles."

He left my room on the search for Princess and Madam Fussy Britches so he could tell them the good news, though they were as confused as I was on why it had to be _me_.

_I can't believe I listened to Lichee Nuts over here. Never trust a balding monk._

After about ten minutes of walking with mud caked on my thighs, we finally reached terra firma. I lay down on my back and began making a rock angel out of _my_ beautiful, beautiful ground.

**AANG'S POV**

I left Toph to her beloved ground and gathered some dead branches together to make a fire. I didn't know about Toph but I was freezing. I had tried to bend some of the swamp goo off of my clothes but, since Toph had pushed me into the murky water, some of it had dried on my shirt and would not come off. So I had to take off my shirt and just sit on the cold ground. Shirtless.

As I began making the fire, I started thinking about why I was even here in the first place. It sure wasn't because I was looking forward to seeing Dude and Hugh, my swampy friends. I mean, they weren't bad people, not at all, but would it kill them to cover up a little more? Don't get me wrong, I was all for wearing what you want or what you don't want, but even I have a limit when it came to certain articles of clothing.

I had a nasty case of déjà vu as I landed in the swamp in the same fashion as I did the first time I came to this spiritual place. There was somehow a tornado that swept Toph and I off of Appa and had us crashing somewhere within the swamp without my furry friends.

It felt like the swamp was calling to me and before I knew it, the tornado popped up and pulled us down like it was impatient or something. Toph was already annoyed about having to fly through the air where she couldn't see anything but having to walk through the swamp was another thing entirely.

I didn't know why I was here in the swamp in the first place. A vision came to me about a week ago about the swamp. I was in a foggy place and I couldn't see where I was. Then there was a change of scenery and I was on the edge of a canyon and I was looking out at two figures that were coming towards me. Then, everything went black as I fell into a dark abyss.

The meaning of the vision was still unknown to me but the entire thing had made me laugh afterwards. As if it was a joke; that only served to confuse me more.

"Hey Twinkles, where are you going? Did you think that you could just bring me here to the swamp and then leave me? Idiot."

Toph's voice seemed to puncture through some sort of trance I was in.

"Uh-what?"

"Geez, what is wrong with you? It's like you're not even here."

I shook my head and tried to clear my thoughts.

"So when are you going to get to firebending? I'm freezing my toes off here."

Somehow I had gotten to the edge of the rock that we were camping on and was about to head back into the swamp when Toph's hard voice had woken me up. Why was I going into the swamp in the first place? I was doing everything to try and find my way out of the murky place, so why was I trying to go back?

"Sorry Sifu Toph," I said as I went back to my unlit fire. But before I actually got there, I heard a noise behind me that sounded like someone was snickering. I turned around but I was met with same view as always, the murky swampy water. But just to make sure I didn't imagine it:

"Toph, did you hear that?"

She cocked her head to the side and asked, "Heard what, Twinkles?"

Well if she didn't hear it: "Nothing, Toph."

I hurried to light the fire as I felt a cold chill wash over me.

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**OoOoh. Don't you hate it when cold chills wash over you?**

**Don't worry, there will be some fluff in the next chapter. =]**

**Tell me what you think! I'll probably go on anyways, so just wait for the next chapter to come up. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**


	2. Storms a'coming

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar. Just the story and the paper I used to write it down in. **

**Read on...**

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**AANG'S POV**

"Shut up," I heard Toph mutter in her sleep beside me for the fifth time. Even though she was holed up in her rock tent, I could still hear her. But she wasn't telling me to "shut up"; she was talking to all the critters and creatures in the swamp that were chattering happily away in the midnight air.

I was quite enjoying the sounds, but for Toph's sensitive ears I would imagine that she'd have some aversion to the sounds.

"For the last time SHUT UP!!" she yelled into the dark night so loudly that I could feel the vibrations of her voice in the ground. The crazy thing is though that all the animals shut up and all that was left was an awkward silence.

"Wow," I mumbled. A second later I felt as if I was being punched in the ribs. "Toph!" I whispered harshly as I pushed away the rock she had bended at me.

"Shut up, Twinkle Toes. _Not-a-nother-word_," she warned.

After I got my heartbeat to slow down from the threat, I finally drifted off to sleep, only to be awakened by the scent of fresh earth, swampy air, and some type of fruit. Toph.

I opened my eyes and I could barely see her shape in the dark but it looked like her back was to me. A shiver ran through her body and I instantly got why she was sleeping right next to me. She was cold.

I focused my energy in heating the ground to just the right temperature. I gasped when Toph turned around and…cuddled up to my chest.

She sighed, "Better."

_No need to worry,_ I told myself. _Toph is only cold and since I'm a firebender, I am, by nature, warm. We are just sharing my surplus of body heat._

Yeah, that's it.

Well...if that was it, then why did my body feel like I had just wrestled a Platypus-bear? Tired, yet, strangely exhilarated and happy.

In this position (one arm around Toph's waist; the other under her head as a pillow and her head under my chin) I couldn't help but think about how beautiful she's gotten with age. She's definitely grown a lot **AN:(wink, wink)**. Her toned body, coupled with her curves just accentuated her small pale face and her sharp features perfectly. The only thing that bothered me was that her hair was in her beautiful milky-filmed emerald eyes.

I would move her bangs away from her eyes but I rather like my hand attached to my body.

Wait…hold up. Was I just thinking about Toph in…_that_ way? You know, the-way-every-guy-imagines-their-dream-girl, way? Like the way I used to imagine Katara before she became engaged to Fire Lord Zuko. My heart tightened a bit in my chest but I ignored it. No need to bring on unnecessary pain.

But there was no way that I was thinking of Toph in that way. No. No way. Katara was sweet, caring, and motherly; Toph…was not.

No. Of course not. I was simply making an observation. Yep, just a simple observation.

"Your heart is annoying the dust off of me, so calm down and go to sleep," ordered the World's Greatest Earthbender from under my chin. She snuggled closer and my breath hitched.

_Calm down Aang. You're the Avatar for Spirits' sake! Things like this shouldn't make you nervous. You took on the "Phoenix King" by _yourself_ and won! What is _wrong_ with you? _

I didn't have an answer to that.

I took deep breaths and tried to meditate while lying down. In; Out; inhale; exhale. In the dark of night, I took notice of my situation: sleeping with the World's Greatest Earthbender, my Sifu, the world's first ever metalbender, and my best friend under the stars, and surprisingly it felt good.

**TOPH'S POV**

I woke up like hours later from the time I had actually fallen asleep. But I didn't wake up on my own accord, oh no. I woke up because I was sweating like a hog-monkey in a sauna. Someone was on top of me, I could feel it. Their body heat was high and was burning me to a crisp.

Sweat was covering every inch of my body and my hair was plastered to my face like that one time I stuck my finger in sap and had it glued to my palm for three days. I opened my eyes reflexively and well, saw nothing. Or at least I think it was nothing.

This happened every morning.

1. I'd wake up.

2. I'd open my eyes.

3. I'd wonder what I was staring at.

Was it nothing, or was it some sort of color? If only I knew. It was the one thing that really bothered me anymore. It frustrated me that I didn't know what I was staring at, but I mostly just put the thought out of my mind, and that was exactly what I did after I tried to remove a hair from my mouth. Unsuccessfully may I add.

Whoever was on me was pretty light and when I hit the ground with my free hand (the other was behind my body which was currently trapped in a very uncomfortable position) I "saw" that it was Twinkle Toes who was on top of me.

Needless to say, I freaked out. I tried to wiggle out from under him but one arm snaked its way around my back and squeezed me tighter, making escape impossible for a normal girl.

But I was not your regular run-of-the-mill damsel in distress. Heck, I wasn't even a damsel according to General Blowfish.

Before I could do anything, his face nuzzled into the crook of my neck and I panicked. Oh, I panicked badly. Can you blame me? I've never been much of a fan of hugs but _this_…was _way_ too much for me.

I brought down the earth tent with my free hand (I didn't even care how much noise I was making) and as I flicked my wrist I sent a pillar of earth into Aang's side. An immense weight was being lifted off of me as I heard his screams echo through the swampy air, but at the same time I got a cool shocker from the cold -- morning? -- air. I suddenly wanted Twinkle Toes back but I shook that thought out of my head. The Blind Bandit doesn't need any pansy to warm her up.

I bended another earth tent around me and sat meditation style while I took off my most prized possession from my left arm: my meteor bracelet. As much as I hate to admit it, I was ashamed of how I'd acted and I wasn't ready to face Twinkle Toes just now.

I was Toph Bei Fong for Spirits' sake! Why didn't I handle the situation maturely and responsibly? I paused a moment on that thought, then I snickered. Yeah, Toph Bei Fong, responsible. Sure. I hated doing things by the rules but that still didn't excuse my actions.

The usually soft vibrations of Twinkle Toes sounded off beat as he made his way back to camp after landing far away in the swamp with a splash. His footsteps sounded almost like he was limping. My breathing hitched as I felt his heart beat furiously behind me but I didn't stop making random shapes with my bracelet.

He bended down my earth tent but I still didn't move.

"Do you see what you did?" he asked, his voice full of irritation.

I sighed, exasperated. "No, I do not 'see' what I did? Would you mind telling me what you're pointing too?" I surprised myself that I was able to keep such an even voice with my heart pounding as hard as it could that it almost painful.

Recognition filled his voice, "Oh. Yeah. Sorry."

I shrugged as I put my meteor bracelet back on. "Whatever." I fingered the dirt.

Anger was back in Twinkles' voice. "I am pointing to my swollen stomach!"

I stood up to face him as I crossed my arms tightly over my chest.

"Stop being such a winy baby, Twinkle Puff. It can't be that bad," I dismissed offhandedly.

Twinkles grabbed my wrist and I immediately jerked it away but he was persistent and his grip didn't lessen, it tightened. _Since when did he have enough muscle to pull me like that?_ He held my hand firmly to his stomach…his bare stomach.

_Since when did he sleep shirtless, and why didn't I notice that last night?_

I ran my hand lightly over a swollen bump and he winced but didn't protest. His breathing was scaring me a bit because it was so fast and short. I must have really scared him. I was going to tease him about this but then my pinky accidentally brushed against his lower abdomen.

_Since when did Twinkle Toes have abs? _

My hands trailed across his six-pack and across his stomach as I felt the delicious muscles. I felt the waist band of his pants and hid my bright red blush under my hair as he asked, "Um…Toph, what are you doing?" his tone didn't even show the slightest hint of embarrassment. He sounded like he was just curious and that ticked me off.

Though I could feel his heart racing, I didn't feel a blush emanating from his body. Nobody makes Toph Bei Fong blush and act nonchalantly about it afterwards.

I pushed his shoulders and he fell.

"Nothing," I answered harshly and hastily. "Now, what do we have to eat? I'm hungry."

**IN ANOTHER PLACE AND TIME**

"Hey, Toe-Jam? Do you think that cloud looks like a bunny?"

"Mmmhmmm."

"You haven't said anything for the past _hour_!"

"Mmhmm."

"Sometimes I wonder how I can even understand you!"

I grunted an I-don't-know.

"Nothing exciting ever happens to us! You know that?!"

"Hmm," I responded casually to her spontaneous outburst.

Analese-Victoria was always loud. She always wanted to go exploring or do something and she was always so freaking happy all the time that it got on my nerves.

And I mean, how hard is it to call me by my real name, Todd? It's one syllable. Not that hard, in my opinion.

Of course, I'm being a bit hypocritical since I never call her by her first name either. But can you blame me? It is way too long. I call her Ana for short.

But as much as our personalities and appearances differed, I had to agree with her.

It was the second day of our five-day weekend and we were spending it nonproductively by lying down side-by-side and watching the desert clouds of Arizona pass on by as we looked on from her backyard.

Not really my idea of fun.

Suddenly the clouds started to shift and it seemed like they were moving backwards. Today was a cloudy day, which was unusual for Arizona, and the clouds seemed to darken in color. The air had lost its dry, dusty smell and was replaced with humid and heavy air.

I looked at Ana and she looked at me.

"Storm?" I asked.

"Looks like it. But I've never seen a storm where the clouds move backwards,"--_so I wasn't the only one who noticed_--"and it came on pretty fast didn't it? Let's go inside, my mom'll be back in an hour or so."

The wind began to pick up and whipped her long, brunette curls around her face as it did to my short black hair.

As I got up I offered her my hand when a blank look crossed her face for a millisecond before it was replaced by her unusually over-animated expression.

"Hey! You finally spoke!" she applauded me and jumped in place as I bowed.

She was laughing all the way into the house and I followed her in. Most parents would be going off the wall if they found out that their daughter's best friend was a guy, but Ana's mom was a really cool person. Way cooler than my mom who still has a problem with Ana coming over.

There was a moment of uneasiness that hit me sort of like vertigo as I passed through the screen door, but I shook it off and hoped with all my heart that a thunderstorm wasn't on its way.

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**A/N: Didn't expect that last thing did you? Well, don't worry if you don't get it. It's definitely going somewhere. Just wait till I post tomorrow. **

**Did you like that little Toph and Aang fluff?**

**Review if you like and tell me what would make it interesting for you, I want to hear those kind of comments. **

**Oh and I tried extra hard not to have any typos. I re-read the whole thing like twice so alert me if I have any, please. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches =]**


	3. The Voices of the Wind

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar. However, I do own the story and the words. Yay me!!**

**Read on...**

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**AANG'S POV**

"Does the swamp seem…different to you…somehow?"

_Crunch! _The sound of nuts from my bag crunching under Toph's homemade nut cracker made me jump.

With her mouth full of food she answered, "It seems a bit…quiet doesn't it? And if feels like a storm's coming."

"How can you tell?"

"Heightened senses, Twinkles. Heightened senses."

Well, that sure explained why she would always build an earth tent an hour before a storm would actually touch land.

"When can we get out of here? Don't you and Appa have like some sort of Avatar-y connection thingy? Just feel him out or something."

"For that to actually work I need to go to the center of the swamp and it looks like we're days away from it."

"Well, isn't that just wonderful," sarcasm marked Toph's voice perfectly. She was about to lay down but as soon as her head hit the ground she jerked back up.

"Do you feel that?" she asked as she put a hand on the ground.

I was digging through my bag for any more food that I could eat when Toph had asked me that. My head shot up and I dropped the bag entirely.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. After I had rubbed my eyes a good 3 times, I had to admit that what I was seeing was real.

A swirling vortex of colors and wind seemed to be emanating from deep within the murky water and it looked like it was moving. And not just moving anywhere; it was coming straight for us.

"Did you say something, Twinkles?"

"What-no, I didn't. Why? Did you hear something?" I said quickly as I racked my brain for an idea on how to get out of here.

I could fly but then I'd get stuck in the vines. I could waterbend us somewhere but how do I do that without scaring Toph. I mean, she couldn't see what I was seeing and I didn't want to freak her out.

I saw Toph stand up and from her gaze it almost seemed like she was entranced by something.

"It's like…voices. Whispering in the wind and swirling or mixing with the water," she whispered herself. It almost seemed that she thought that if she spoke aloud, all the voices would stop. I saw her walk towards the whirlwind and I had to snap her out her own trance. "It's so…beautiful," she breathed.

With each step she took towards the murky water I grew panicky. She didn't know what she was getting herself into. _I _didn't even know what I was getting myself into.

"Toph," I asked rather uneasily.

"Yes, Aang," she breathed and my eyes widened. Throughout this whole trip she had been calling me by my nickname and now she was calling me _Aang_?

_Oh, this is bad,_ I thought to myself. I had to get her out of here, but how.

I grabbed Toph's arm and tried to pull her back but she kept on walking like there was nothing holding her back. And believe me, I was using all my strength to try and keep her away from the vortex that crept closer to us each passing second.

"Toph, WAKE UP!" I yelled in her ear as loud as I could. She didn't flinch. I bended a wall in front of her and she just went around it.

Let me repeat that:

Toph Bei Fong walked _around_ a rock wall!

The winds picked up around me with a roar and the water seemed to just swirl deeper and deeper into the swamp. All the colors you can imagine were swirling in the wind. I took a waterbending stance and tried to reverse the water so the vortex would stop but I couldn't even move one drop of water.

When I heard Toph scream, I froze. I quickly defrosted and turned around just in time to see her hand flailing above the water.

"Toph!" I yelled as I dived into the water headfirst around the spot where I last saw her hand.

_She could not be drowning. She could _not_ be drowning. I wouldn't_ _let_ _her!_

Under the water I was having a battle with the strong currents that tried to pull me to and fro and up and down. My eyes burning from the natural methane gas that the swamp produced, but I didn't care. I resurfaced, took a deep breath and went down back down.

You must be wondering why I didn't just bend the water out of the way or why I didn't bend my own bubble of air instead of taking a deep breath. Well, it was because I couldn't bend! On land I could bend but as soon as I had dived into the water my bending seemed meaningless.

Two things I knew for sure:

1. This was no regular storm.

2. The Spirit World _had_ to be involved in this. They just had to be.

The second time I was underwater was a bit easier since I knew that if I moved a certain way that I'd be taken under and I wouldn't come back up again. A pale white shape caught my attention and I wished with all my heart that it was Toph. I stretched out my hand and--thanks to my growth spurt--I was able to grasp the hand that seemed to reach for me. I pulled Toph up to the surface and gasped for air as I tried to remove water from my mouth, which was a little hard since it had begun raining while I was down there.

Luckily, Toph was doing the same thing as me. I heaved a much needed sigh of relief.

"Toph, are you okay?" I asked, sort of yelling in her ear so I could make sure that she heard me over the roar of the winds and the rush of water.

She nodded and continued coughing violently.

"Hold on!" I instructed as I put her on my back and tried to swim away from the bright beam of light that had suddenly shot up from the whirlpool.

With each stroke I took I could feel Toph's grip on my shoulder loosen.

I yelled in frustration, "Toph, I said to hold on!"

I heard her hoarse reply as clearly as if we weren't trying to out-swim a vortex of water that was trying to consume us.

"Something's pulling me. Aang, help!"

I turned around and held her tightly to my chest. She put her arms around my back and her legs around my waist.

_If Toph was going down, then so would I. _

The water rushed around us and we were soon pulled into the whirlpool of colors where we swirled round and round until I was sure that I was about to throw up. I closed my eyes and held Toph as tight as she was holding me as we penetrated the bright light and were met with utter blackness.

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**A/N: I hate being pelted with utter blackness! It gets on my nerves.**

**Anywho, review and tell me what you think. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	4. The Voices of the Wind pt 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the show or characters. I simply make them suffer! Mwahahaha!

**Read on…**

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**Toph's POV**

I've been feeling a change in the pressure of the air in the swamp, it felt like a nasty storm was coming but at the same time, everything seemed calm.

Sensory overload much?

"Does the swamp seem…different to you somehow?" Aang's voice cut into my concentration as I cracked my unknown species of nuts that served as my breakfast, on my rock table with my rock mallet.

_Crack!_ The loud sound was a welcome one to my ears, but apparently not to Puffball since he jumped at the sound. The pansy. I dropped my mallet and with my mouth filled with unflavored nuts, I answered.

"It seems a bit…quiet doesn't it? And if feels like a storm's coming."

_How does he stand eating this? Where's the meat? Oh Spirits, I can't believe I just quoted Ponytail A.K.A. Sokka. _

Twinkles seemed surprised, "How can you tell?"

_These nuts have absolutely no flavor at all. Note to self: don't _ever_ become a vegetarian…_ever_. _I swallowed the repulsive and pitiful excuse for a meal while making a mental note to kill Twinkles for making me eat this.

"Heightened senses, Twinkles. Heightened senses."

I didn't really want to get into the fact that I could actually feel the pressure in the air around me, which is what made it clear to _me_ that Sweetness and Princess were having a little fling in our travel days. The air would just be filled with _some_ kind of tension when the two of them were in the same room or just in the presence of one another. It honestly made me want to barf when that happened. The tension would just build and build until one of them walked away, and then the other would follow not long after.

_Not_ a nice way to find out that your crush is not into _you_, but your _fire_bending master. Poor, Twinkles. I actually wondered how he could stand to be in the Palace when he called for me to come with him on this trip. Sweetness greeted him happily, the oblivious nut. Princess was a bit more reserved and I could tell he was wishing that the tension that _he_ felt would ease. But Twinkles, as jolly as ever, just waltzed in there and was so giddy about the situation. I honestly wondered how he did it.

"When can we get out of here? Don't you and Appa have like some sort of Avatar-y connection thingy? Just feel him out or something." I remembered one of the many – and I mean, many – stories that he told me about his days in the swamp.

"For that to actually work I need to go to the center of the swamp and it looks like we're days away from it."

Ugh! "Well, isn't that just wonderful," my voice marked with my usual sarcasm.

I was about to lie my head down for a little nap but when my head touched the ground I shot back up. I could feel all the small pebbles around me shudder and vibrate on the ground. Something was coming, something big. It was only then that I felt the pressure in the air. It was heavy and filled with dread but also…something else that I couldn't place. High expectations? Nervousness? Confidence? Impatience? I knew that this couldn't be coming from Twinkle Toes, but since I didn't know what it was, I asked him about it.

"Do you feel that?" I asked as I put my hand on the ground for a better reading.

Most people think I only see with my feet, but my hands are good eyes too. And a lot more effective since they're closer to my brain and I can process the vibrations a lot earlier than with my feet. But wouldn't it be a drag to walk around on my hands? Yes, yes it would. So I'll stick with my feet for now.

Airhead was digging in his bag for something but when I asked him that he dropped the bag like it was on fire. I could feel his heartbeat pick up from the vibrations that were radiating off of him and into the ground.

I was speculating as to why his heart was the way it was when I heard the most beautiful sound I have ever heard in my life. But where did it come from?

"Did you say something, Twinkles?"

"What-no, I didn't. Why? Did you hear something?" he said quickly, as if something was making him nervous.

I stood up and turned my blind gaze to what I thought to be the direction of the swamp.

"It's like…voices. Whispering in the wind and swirling or mixing with the water," I whispered to myself because I thought that I spoke in my normal tone of voice that the wonderful and intoxicating voices would cease to exist. "It's so…beautiful." That was as best as I could describe it to him since he didn't hear it.

My legs seemed to push forward on their own accord. Not that I minded, I wanted to hear more of the voices. It seemed like they were calling me. Calling me to come join them. To be with them. To trust them. They were going to show me something. Something wonderful.

"Toph?" asked a voice that distracted me from the others.

"Yes, Aang," I breathed. I _was_ going to yell at him for distracting me but the voices calmed me down to about the point where my limbs were doughy and soft. And I didn't feel like yelling anymore.

A hand grabbed my doughy arm and tried to pull me back but it was like I could barely feel it. The hand was nothing more than a feather rubbing softly against my skin.

"Toph, wake up." I heard something say in my ear. But to me it was more muffled like the voice was covered up, not wanting to reach my sensitive ears. I took another step and there was an obstacle in my way, so I walked around it. My limbs were so relaxed that I couldn't bare the thought of disturbing the sensations with silly earthbending.

The winds picked up around me and were caressing me with their soft touch. I entered the murky waters and surprisingly, the water was warm. Like it was heated just for me. I continued walking as the feeling of being weightless continued. I couldn't really see in the muddy water but it was enough so that I could tell that I was about to come to a drop off, but I didn't care. I was weightless.

I screamed.

Or was I? I fell and I could feel the thick, ice water pour around me. I heard the roar of the winds that were rough against my skin. I was heavy, I wasn't weightless. What was I thinking?

I kicked with all my might but the water seemed to be pulling me down into its mighty depths. The currents were too strong and since I couldn't see anything I didn't know whether I was going up or down. Water rushed over me and I got in one last wave to Twinkles so he could see where I was before I sank.

The voices in the water were loud and angry. Why had I listened to them? They were screaming at me, they were telling me that I was going to die. They were telling me that I was a worthless wimp and that I only had about twenty more seconds until death was near. They were telling me that I was just a blind girl, nothing special, nothing there. They said I was ugly, that I wasn't just ugly. I was so ugly that I was an entirely different species. How I desperately wished I were on land.

I could feel my lungs just shrieking for a breath of air. My body was at war with my mind as it tried to calm down. I felt something brush against my leg and, even though I knew I was underwater, I couldn't help but scream.

The much needed air was replaced with unwanted nasty water. I closed my mouth and tried to expunge the water but I didn't know how. I could feel my head about to explode and my nose was burning but I couldn't do anything about it. I was drowning.

Just when I thought I was going to lose consciousness, I felt something pull me upwards, first by my hand and then by my underarms.

When I broke through the surface I began violently sucking up lungfulls of air while choking on the water that was coming up my throat and out my mouth and nose.

"Toph, are you okay?" Twinkles yelled in my ear over the roar of the winds and the rush of water.

My mouth was still violently expunging water from my lungs so I could only nod. I didn't know if I was okay but I guess not being dead counted as okay. Right?

"Hold on!" Twinkles instructed as he swung me onto his back and began swimming.

With each stroke he took my hands loosened from their grip on his neck. I tried to hold on but my hands were slippery and it felt like something was pulling me. Not something, it felt like the water was wrapping itself around my legs and pulling me back.

"Toph, I said to hold on!" He yelled, clearly annoyed that I wasn't doing what he instructed.

I tried to scream back but all I could manage was a high-pitched hoarse reply.

"Something's pulling me. Aang, help!"

He suddenly turned around and hugged my to his muscular chest that I could feel since the shirt he put on in the morning was soaked through with water. I wrapped my arms around his neck and while burying my face in his chest I pried my legs free from the constricting water and swung them around his waist in fear of falling back into the deep, deep waters where I may never come up again.

The whispering voices mixed with the violent ones as I felt myself spin with Aang in what felt like a straw, sucking us in. The voices were loud in my ear and I tried to drown out the voices but it seemed like they were the only things that made up the atmosphere. There was no oxygen, or water, just voices. An endless supply of voices.

I was so scared but I was glad I had Aang to hold on to as the sensation of my body molecules were separating and falling became greater and greater until I felt like I was about to explode.

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**A/N: Yay! Toph's POV!**

**Did ya'll count how many times she actually used his real name? **

**Omg, this was so hard to write, because all I had to work with were vibrations and feelings. But it was also fun to write. **

**I'm going to try and post like every other day. But I'm going to try and post the next chapter tomorrow, I'm almost done, just a bit more to go. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**


	5. Foreign Exchange Students and Cars

**Disclaimer:**** I own no part of the Avatar…no matter how much I want to. **

**Read on…**

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**Aang's Pov**

"Ow," I moaned as I tried to orient myself to my surroundings.

I flipped over and I had the sudden sensation that I was falling. When I hit the ground with a thud I groaned. I could feel sunlight on my skin and I could see the orange behind my eyelids; it was very, _very_ bright.

"Ugh. It wasn't a dream," I mumbled. I was referring to the falling "sensation".

I tried to recollect my thoughts but they were so twisted and jumbled up inside my head that I couldn't _form_ a coherent thought. What happened?

…wait…wasn't I…with someone? My breathing picked up and I opened my eyes to the blinding sunlight. I took a while for my eyes to adjust but when they did, the sight before me was one that I wished so desperately that I could erase from my memory.

"Toph? Toph!" I yelled.

I tried to get up but a pain in my side and the lightheadedness that I felt were too much and I had to lie back down.

Toph was laying face-down on the red earth next to me. Her arm was near her head and the other I couldn't see. The way her legs were spread out made it seem like she was sleeping. What was bothering me is that if she were _just sleeping_, then she'd be so irritated at how many times I was saying her name that she'd earthbend a two ton boulder at me. But she wasn't doing that. She wasn't doing _any_thing.

I yelled desperately at her non-moving body, "Toph, please, wake up! Do something!"

I heard her groan and I sucked up the pain and crawled over to her.

"Toph," I said, completely out of breath from the tortuous exertion I just went through trying to get to her body that was only ten feet away.

"Toph, are you okay?"

I grabbed her shoulder and was about to turn her around but an ear-splitting shriek froze me. The scream was only a second long but the after shock was still with me like an echo in my mind.

"Toph. Toph. What's wrong? Are you okay? Please answer me!"

She muttered an, "Ow" and I heard a sound from her that I had never heard from her before: a sob. I was scared before, I admit it. But now, I was just terrified. _How was I supposed to handle this? I've never had to deal with anything like this before. I didn't know how to deal with a girl crying. And not just any girl, Toph. _

Softly I asked, "Toph? Answer me. Are you okay?"

She sniffed and rolled over to me; I couldn't help but notice how she kept her right arm carefully secured with her left, over her stomach. I looked up at her face and I was instantly saddened at the sight before me. Her usually pale face was splotched with red and her eyes were puffy. _How long had she been crying?_

_This is all my fault!_ No, seriously it is. I mean, if I hadn't asked her to come with me then none of this would have ever happened. She would be safe instructing new Fire Nation Recruits in the Fire Nation with Katara and Zuko. She wouldn't be crying. She wouldn't be hurt and lying on the ground like she's broken. She'd be safe. As Avatar, it was my job to keep people safe, but if I couldn't even keep my _best friend_ safe, then how was I supposed to keep complete _strangers_ safe? I can't believe I did this. To my _best friend_, nonetheless. I should have kept her safe. I shouldn't have even asked her to come. I should've just come by myself. Why did I have to drag her into this?

Her voice pulled me out of my chagrined and regretful thoughts.

"I think I broke my arm. Where are we? Where's the water? Where'd the voices go?" she asked in a breathless fashion.

"I'm so sorry, Toph. So, so, sorry. I didn't mean to. I shouldn't have brought you with me. I'm so-so-so sorry," I said with my voice filled with the regret that was threatening to consume my every pore.

"If I could, I'd hit you right now. But since I can't, I'll just yell at you. What is your problem? I agreed to go. It's no one's fault, Airhead. It's just a broken bone, they heal. I'll be fine as long as I stop talking," she said that all in two breaths with a strained voice that made me feel guilty. But I couldn't let her know that.

"Yeah, okay. As long as you're fine—you _are_ fine, aren't you?"

"Been better," she breathed. "You?"

"I think I'm fine. Still bruised," I teased. She smirked. I carefully stood up. My bones felt like an old rickety door and I was sure that Toph could hear the creaking and hinging that I felt like they were making. "But other than that I'm—Oh, Spirits!" I started hopping on one foot while holding my right knee up.

"What's wrong? What's happening, Twinkles? Don't leave me in the dark!" Toph said as she began to panic.

I had to calm her down. "Toph, it's fine. I think I just sprained my ankle. It's nothing."

She heaved a sigh of relief and then a look of confusion crossed her face.

"Where are we?"

Holding my injured foot in the air, I looked at our surroundings. Everything was…green. And there was a fountain that had water flowing straight from the top and surrounding it was a flow of water that flowed outward. It seemed like Toph and I were on a construction site for something. That would explain the red earth we were in. But where was this?

"Somebody's coming and from their heavy footsteps it sounds like they're mad," Toph warned.

_Maybe they'll help us though,_ I thought hopefully.

"Hey," yelled out a female voice from behind me. "Who are you guys? This is private property."

I turned around and saw a girl with dark brown curls coming towards us. Behind her stood a man a foot or so taller than her with black hair that was in his face, kind of like Zuko's when he was traveling with us.

I waved.

"Hi, I'm Aang. Do you by any chance know what this place is called?"

The closer they got to us, the more I saw the beauty in the brown haired girl. I liked the fact that her face was animated, just like mine. They stopped a foot in front of me and the guy who was in the back moved closer towards the front.

"Like, the city?"

I shrugged, "I guess."

"Phoenix. Now, what are you guys doing here?"

I ignored her question and focused on the answer.

_Phoenix. Phoenix?_ I gulped and braced myself for the answer to my next question.

"Phoenix as in…Phoenix King?"

Wasn't Ozai in jail? What if he got out? What if he escaped? Wait…what am I worrying about? He can't bend anymore.

But he could always have allies. Isn't that why Toph was in charge of new recruits? To make sure that they would keep from thinking themselves superior? And to keep them from following what Sozen started but Ozai continued?

"Phoenix King? What kind of dumbass name is that?" The girl elbowed the guy in front of her who looked like he was trying to keep from falling down with laughter. "Did you hear that? Who has kings anymore anyways? Oh –" she looked behind me at Toph who hadn't moved. "What's wrong with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend! But I think she broke her arm from the nasty fall we took."

The brown haired girl looked around.

"Fell from where? And you never answered my question from earlier."

I frowned slightly. "I don't really know _how_ we fell. And I don't know what we're doing here either."

I don't know why but this seemed to make the girls' day. Her honey eyes were bright with renewed excitement.

"Oooh – oooh! Are you guys like foreign exchange students? That is so awesome! Well, I've been rude haven't I? Let me introduce myself: I'm Analese-Victoria Lovington but call me Ana. And this is my best friend, Toe-jam." She gestured towards the black haired buy in front of her.

He held out his hand for me to shake.

"The name's Todd Radcliff. Who are you again?"

"Aang."

"Do you have a last name?" asked Todd.

"Um-Aang Pipenpadalopsocopolis." I've been waiting to use that name again. It's just so much fun to say. Their eyes widened in disbelief and amusement when I finished saying my last name.

"And I'm Toph Bei Fong. Well, if we're done with introductions can you help me up?" said a very irate voice from behind me.

I started for her but Todd beat me to it. He put a hand behind Toph's shoulders but before he could put a hand anywhere else Toph said, "Who is touching me? Twinkles, who is _touching_ me!"

"Can't she see that it's only Todd?" asked Ana.

I sighed. "No. She can't _see_ who's touching her." I caught the shocked look on Ana's face and nodded. I said to Toph, "It's only Todd, he won't hurt you."

"I wasn't afraid of someone _hurting_ me," Toph sneered. "I was just _wondering_ who was touching me." She grumbled something else about taking care of herself but I didn't ask her to elaborate.

"Is it okay if I pick you up now?" Todd asked Toph.

"Whatever."

Todd put his other hand under Toph's knee and picked her up. Toph's breath hitched and I saw her mouth set in a tight line and her eyes were shut like she was in pain. He set her gently on the ground but when her left foot touched the ground she yelped without opening her mouth. Todd put her back in his arms. I don't know why this bothered me so much. I mean, I was perfectly capable of holding on to Toph. Plus this guy didn't even know her.

"What's wrong?" I asked Toph while avoiding eye contact with Todd.

She muttered, "Today better not get any worse." Out loud she said, "I have a broken arm and I think I sprained my ankle." The tone of voice she used sure made it sound like she was irritated.

Todd shot Ana a look and she nodded.

"We're going to take you to the hospital. Is that okay?" Todd asked Toph.

"Just give me something for the pain and hurry up with the cast okay, Toto."

Todd shot her a look of disgust for the comment but walked Toph back into the house. I stayed behind with Ana.

"Did you sprain your ankle too?"

I looked down at how the toes on my right foot were barely touching the ground. Smiling sheepishly, I shrugged.

"I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Let's take care of Toph first." I hobbled towards the door but something kept getting in my face. I ran a hand through my hair and – whoa, wait a second. _Hair_?

**Toph's POV**

_Oh Spirits this hurts!_ I was going to get up and tell everyone to stop talking about me like I wasn't here. But when the girl asked Aang what was the matter with his "girlfriend", I froze and, I can't believe I'm saying this, I blushed. _I_ actually _blushed_. But I quickly tried to get rid of it, especially when some unfamiliar vibrations were coming closer towards me.

I would've moved away but my arm hurt quite enough. I wanted to scream when some unknown arm put itself around my shoulders and the motion caused my left arm to jostle a bit. But I didn't and that made me angry.

I hate it when strangers touch me!

"Who is touching me? Twinkles, who is _touching_ me!"

"Can't she see that it's only Todd?" asked this really high and peppy voice.

I heard Twinkles sigh. "No. She can't _see_ who's touching her." Behind him I waved my left hand over my eyes and I hurried to put it back under my right arm so it could support the broken arm better. "It's only Todd, he won't hurt you."

I mentally scoffed.

"I wasn't afraid of someone _hurting_ me," I sneered. "I was just _wondering_ who was touching me." I grumbled under my breath, "Jeez, I can take care of myself, Airhead. I've been doing it for the past five years."

"Is it okay if I pick you up now?" I figured that the deep voice was referring to me.

"Whatever."

I felt another arm go under my knees and pick me up. I didn't want to scream in front of these people so I closed my mouth tightly and shut my eyes. I've dealt with pain before but this was intense. My breath hitched as he slid me down his arms so I'd be set on the ground. The first foot to touch the ground was my left but when Toto set me down on it, I held my mouth tightly together while I yelped once in pain. He picked me up again and that was the first time in my life that I'd been happy leaving the ground. I couldn't feel anything besides his steady heartbeat.

"What's wrong?" Twinkles asked me.

I muttered to myself, "Today better not get any worse." To answer his question I said in a very irritated tone of voice, "I have a broken arm and I think I sprained my ankle."

After a silence, the same deep voice from last time spoke up.

"We're going to take you to the hospital. Is that okay?"

"Just give me something for the pain and hurry up with the cast okay, Toto," I replied sort of impatiently.

Toto walked and I couldn't tell if he was alone, but after I heard the voice behind us get smaller I groaned thinking just how wonderful it was that I was alone with this unknown guy. What was Twinkles thinking, leaving me alone with a guy I barely know? I could feel someone looking at me from behind but I shrugged it off.

"My name's Todd, you know."

"And…"

"Why are you calling me Toto?"

I groaned a sigh. "I don't know. You kinda remind me of a dog in this play that Blowfish was describing to me once."

"Blowfish?" he questioned. "What play was that?"

"General Lee. And I can't remember the name; it had the word Oz in it."

"The Wizard of Oz?" he asked. I would've shrugged but I didn't want to hurt my arm so I didn't do anything. "My dad's a retired General. Was General Lee in the Navy or Marines or maybe it was the Army?"

What was he talking about? What was a Marine?

"The Army in the Fire Nation. By the way, where is Phoenix in? The Earth Kingdom? It sounds like a place in the Fire Nation but I've never heard of it before."

I could feel confusion radiating off of him. What was so confusing about the question though? It was a simple question really. So why was he confused?

I heard his footsteps change with a new terrain and the air felt cool. I guessed that he had stepped into the house.

Suddenly he started laughing. I bit down on my bottom lip as I tried to keep from making a sound. The way his chest was moving up and down was making my injured arm move too and that was hurting so badly. I could feel a tear in my eye but since I couldn't move the tear flowed freely down my face. He stopped laughing and I could feel his gaze on my face.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Wilst thou ever pardon a beggar such as myself?"

"What – sure, I guess…if that was an apology."

"It was. I'm sort of obsessed with Romeo and Juliet," the last part he said as if he was waiting for a reprimand.

"You mean, Oma and Shu, right? The play between the two cities that hated each other except for two lovers? But their love was forbidden since there was a war going on between their villages?" I said in one breath.

"I take it that this General Lee has been to a lot of plays, right?" I nodded. Blowfish was always into that kind of stuff, but after he retired he's been going to them non stop. And since no one really wanted to hear about them, he talked to me about it. I wouldn't admit it to him, but I really did like the way he described the plays. "But I was talking about the Capulets and the Montagues."

I pursed my lips. "Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Where are you from again?"

"Gaoling," I said offhandedly.

"You look Asian. Are you?"

"I guess. I don't really know what Asians look like."

I heard him open a door and we were back outside in the intense heat. _Yep, definitely Fire Nation. _

"Do you like being blind?" he asked with natural curiosity.

This way he asked the question caught me off guard. Usually people feel pity for me when I tell them I'm blind. Like his friend – what was her name? Ana? But Toto seemed fascinated by it. I didn't really know how to respond so I took a minute to think.

"I've never really had a problem with it. I see with my feet. I can feel all the vibrations in the earth so I can tell where everything is. So, it's not bad and it's definitely not a handicap," I said fiercely.

We stayed in a comfortable silence until we reached something metallic I figured by the way it felt against my right foot – the one that wasn't injured.

"I'm gonna set you in the car for a bit while I go get Aang and Ana. So just stay put and we'll be off to the hospital in a minute."

He set me down in a seat that felt like it was made out of animal skins. I couldn't really feel anything and that made me wary so I strained my ears detect even the tiniest sound.

What was a car, anyways?

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**A/N:**

**Wow. Took me two days to write this!**

**Oh, Aang got a bit jealous when that guy was handling Toph. Hahaha!**

**Did ya'll like it? The modern characters are mine, I totally just made up their names. Is it okay? And yeah, I know the girls name is like so long, but I don't know, I just wanted her to be an Analese-Victoria. Nothing wrong with that.**

**Nine pages people, nine pages. I swear I'm going to get carpel tunnel now! **

**Anywhoo, review and whatnot! **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	6. Stupid Doctors and Sprained Ankles

**Disclaimer:**** I own my mind, my fluffy socks and the MP3 I'm currently listening to, but I do not – I repeat, do not – own the Avatar. **

**Read on…**

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**Toph's POV**

There are a lot of things I hate.

I hate:

1) Doctors and their cold hands.

2) Plaster.

3) Painkillers that make you just a bit woozy.

4) Machines that make weird noises.

5) Doctors and Nurses trying to get you into a wheelchair because you're blind and they think you're going to die if someone isn't guiding you.

6) Pity.

7) The fact that your supposed best friend found the entire situation funny and was laughing his butt off when we got back to the car with the two strangers who drove us to the hospital.

8) The fact that no matter how much you threatened him, you're best friend was teasing you about being really crippled now.

And that was just the current list.

I had my arm in plaster and a sling while my left foot was wrapped up tightly in some sort of boot that totally blinded the left side of my body. Doctor-o Indian-o was acting just like my father when he figured out that I was blind. He told me everything he was going to do, like:

"I am now reaching for my stethoscope. It allows me to better hear your heartbeat and lungs. I will place it on your chest so I can hear your heartbeat. It may feel cold but I need you not to panic. Now breathe in deeply. Good, good. You're doing _great_. Now I'm going to put it on your upper back so I can listen to you're lungs. Breathe in again. _Good, good_. I'm placing it the right side of your back now. Breathe in again. Good job. You're _all_ finished. That wasn't so scary was it?"

"I thought I was gonna pee my pants."

He _actually_ believed me and asked me if I needed to use the "facilities". Then he asked me if I needed help! _Help!_ It took everything I had not to kill the guy.

I made a vow to avoid hospitals from however long we were gonna be in this place to when we leave. And it was a vow I was going to keep.

"I can't believe he made you wear a boot. Very chic."

I groaned in frustration.

"For the last time. Shut up before I kill you, Hairy!"

Aang had told me about the fact that he now had hair and I was going to use that knowledge to my full advantage.

"I can't believe he actually tried to get _you_ in a wheelchair."

"I know, right? I swear it took all I had not to earthbend him out through the roof," I joined Airhead in his laughter. Even though he was annoying me, Twinkles had a point. You never, ever, put Toph Bei Fong in a wheelchair. Crutches, I'll handle.

"Are you okay though? Doctor Indigos said that you'd have to keep both casts on for 6 to 8 weeks. Can you handle that?"

I scoffed. "Don't worry about me, Toto," I said to the guy who was driving this weird piece of machinery. "I can take care of myself."

"Yeah," chirped this really peppy voice. I still couldn't remember her name. "Toph strikes me as an independent girl who doesn't take any crap from anybody. I can tell she can take care of herself. Oh, turn back! I want to get some Mickey D's!"

"You want what?" asked Aang.

I heard an exasperated sigh. "McDonalds, genius. You know, burgers and cows and bread. You want?"

A gagging sound made me chuckle. "I'm a vegetarian."

Someone gasped. "So is Toe-jam! Look Toe-Jam, you have a veggie buddy now!" I heard a rustling of clothes and I could barely make out the impression of a hand gripping my seat. "Are you one too?"

"Ew! Of course not. Just kill me before you feed me anything healthy," I said calmly.

A loud laugh made me jump.

"Whoo, go Top! Us girls are way more manlier than your average man. Oh – wait, I said you're name wrong didn't I? I'm sorry, please don't hate me!"

These people and their constant emotional change were going to give me a headache.

"I'm not mad. Just don't do it again or you _will_ face the consequences."

An eerie silence fell upon the car.

The girl said, "Awkward moment."

"Toph was just kidding. Right?"

In a sickingly sweet voice I replied, "Sure, Twinkles. It was all just a joke. Aren't I just the little kidder?" I _humph_ed and turned my head away from all the people in the car.

I could feel someone was just itching to ask something but they were hesitating. I decided to spare them.

"If you want to ask something, then go ahead."

A low, "How does she do that?" from the girl had me sporting a small smirk. Aloud she said, "Well, I don't want to be rude but…actually this question is for the both of you, but I'd rather wait until we reach my house."

**Todd's POV**

I got tired of Ana's stalling so I asked them the question that was on both of our minds since we first saw Aang and Toph.

"I'll ask it: what are you guys wearing? Are those, like, tunics?" I didn't mean for it to come out like disgust but I mean the things were repulsive!

In the backseat Aang looked at himself. Ana scooted up to smack the back of my head.

"Gee, could you _be_ any ruder?"

"Yes, actually, I could. But since I barely know them, I'll spare them."

She flicked my arm.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Well, nothing, Aang. It's just that, well, no one _wears_ things like that anymore," Ana gently explained.

"It's like bell bottom pants and micro-mini skirts," I added. "It's out of style…actually; I don't think it was ever _in_ style."

Ana slapped my arm.

"Stop hitting the driver!"

"I would if the driver wasn't such a butt!"

"I was just telling them what you were thinking!"

"Even in my head I wasn't as rude as you, Rudy McRudy Pants!"

"Wow, _great_ comeback!" I said with my natural sarcasm.

"Will you guys shut up?!" Toph turned her sightless eyes in my general direction and I could see that she was glaring at me. "The stuff that the Doctors gave me is making me numb and I don't like it. And you guys yelling your heads off isn't helping either! So just shut up until we stop this stupid moving…_thing_!" She turned her back on us and continued glaring out the window.

After a moment of silence Aang spoke up.

"So, McDonald's?"

_Back at Ana's house _

Toph had fallen asleep because of the medication that they had given her for the pain on the way back to Ana's house, so I picked her up from the car seat and walked carefully back into the house.

"Take the crutches, will you, Aang?" I called out behind me. After instructing Aang how to get out of the car, I was sort of fed up with him. It's not his fault though; I just wasn't a very patient person.

"You know, Toph doesn't really like strangers touching her," Aang said. Was it just me or was he getting a bit…jealous?

"She knows my name. Besides, she's sleeping. It's not like she can _feel_ anything when she's this heavily medicated."

I looked at him as he struggled for a rebuttal. Silently, he gave up and picked up the crutches that were on the ground as a result of Ana's problem with getting out of vehicles safely.

"C'mon guys, we're burning daylight here!" Ana called from the doorway.

"You're doing _what_?" Aang asked in bewilderment.

"Burning daylight. You know, wasting time?" I explained to him as he walked behind me.

"Oh…" he trailed off.

What did he think we meant?

**Aang's POV**

Who did this Todd guy think he was telling me what to wear? Telling me what _my_ best friend likes and doesn't like…well, okay, he wasn't really telling me that but _still_! She's _my_ best friend. I was just stating a fact that everyone should know about her. If Toph doesn't know you, then it's better not to touch her. And where does he get off explaining things to me like I'm an idiot? I mean, excuse me, I've never been in a _car_ before; how should I have known how to get out? And then he's over here bossing _me_ around? Sheesh, I'm the _Avatar_ for Spirits' sake! If anything_ I_ should be ordering _him_ around!

"Pop the burger in the microwave will you, Aang? It got cold on the drive back."

She wanted me to do what? I stopped looking at Ana and saw Toph being carried by Todd into a dark hallway.

"You know, I better check on Toph. I want to be sure that she's comfortable when she wakes up because if she's not…well, let's just hope she's comfortable tonight."

I tossed her the wrapped food and walked towards the darkened hallway. I saw a light shining from under the door and slowly opened it.

Todd was just then putting Toph in the middle of a huge bed with a canopy overhead. He put her over the covers and began taking off the boot.

"Why are you taking it off? I thought it was supposed to stay on."

He jumped at the sound of my voice.

"Oh, it's only you." He looked at Toph and back at me. "Well, I heard you say something or other about keeping her comfortable and sleeping with the boot is very uncomfortable. I should know. So, I'm going to take it off and just elevate her foot with these pillows." As he was putting the pillows under her ankle he looked at me, "You know it's not even broken. She just sprained it. I swear that doctor was so stupid; I mean, he didn't even take an X-ray to check. He just stuck her in this very uncomfortable cast because she was blind. Can you believe that?"

"Why are you so angry?"

This guy seemed very suspicious. First off, he doesn't even know Toph and he's treating her like royalty by carrying her everywhere. Second, he's not a Healer. He doesn't know these things. Thirdly: why is he so angry about Toph's discomfort? I mean, I'm angry about it but I'm her friend for crying out loud! This guy has known her for what: 5 _hours_?

"I hate doctors. I don't really know why, but I do. Just like I hate those little rubber erasers that leave marks on your paper. They just annoy me."

I didn't trust this guy, especially to take care of Toph.

"Why don't you let me do that?" I nodded towards Toph. "You have bags under your eyes and you look like you haven't slept in a while."

"I'm fine for right now. I was being a total insomniac last night. And for no reason too; I just couldn't sleep." He paused. "Speaking of sleep, where are you guys staying at?"

I scratched the back of my head. This hair was so weird! I mean, yeah, I've had hair before but never this long. _How does Zuko handle it?_

"I don't really know."

_I don't even know where we are in the world,_ I added helpfully in my head.

"Well, you can spend the night with me and Toph can stay with Ana?"

"I don't really know how long we're going to be staying here," I hedged. I really wanted to get out of this world and back to mine where things made sense.

He shrugged and whipped his head sharply to the right to get rid of a hair that had fallen in his eyes. "That's cool. I don't really care and since you have nowhere else to go, why not just stay with someone you know? I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind."

Okay, after Toph had fallen asleep, I looked at the world around me. I mean, really, _really_ looked. There were these cars everywhere and huge factories that didn't seem to be bothering _anybody_. I didn't see a _single_ person bend an element while I looked out the window, so naturally I figured that the spirits had done something with the time or with the elements. After we left the hospital I picked up a rock and smashed it to bits in my fingers: that proved that I could still bend so I ruled the latter out, leaving only one other explanation. Using common sense, I figured out that this couldn't be the past, or present for that matter, so it had to be the future.

The Avatar and the Worlds' Greatest Earthbender in the future…my prayers are with these strange new people.

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**A/N:**** Sorry for taking such a long time. And just so you know, this is like a filler chapter. So, it's not that interesting…well, except for the jealous Aang. That's always hot!**

**Anywho, I promise to update as soon as I can. If I don't…well, I may be dead or just lazy…darn procrastination! **

**Review and what not if you want. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	7. Fallen Angels Never Back Down

**Disclaimer: I own the Avatar and all its characters! Oh, did I mention that I was a pathological liar?**

**Read on…**

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**Toph's POV**

When I woke up I felt so drowsy. I wanted to go back to sleep but there was a pain in my foot that was just like pulsing and I couldn't fall asleep. I remembered my trip to the doctor and got annoyed all over again. My foot was hurting and throbbing like never before. I was on my side so I flipped over on my back and I could just faintly feel something flexible on the injured foot. Wrappings? Where was my boot? Wait, I don't need a boot. I hated the boot anyways. It's not like I was crippled, I was just hurt. I didn't need it. Nope, not at all.

I got out of bed and realized I was still in my training clothes but my hair was down. I touched the back of my head and ran my non-plastered hand through my hair yawning loudly. That was possibly the best nights sleep I had ever gotten in my life. Whatever they gave me to fall asleep was totally working.

I hobbled and from the faint vibrations I got when I set my right foot down, I wondered what I was standing on. It felt fuzzy and underneath I could feel the faint particles of rock. Thank Earth for that because otherwise I'd be really blind and that would just serve to annoy me more than I already am. I hobbled towards the door and felt around for something to open it since it was wood. I found a knob and holding on to the wall for support I opened the door and stepped on wood.

Because of the wood I couldn't feel anything around me. Where was I? Weren't we coming back from the hospital? Is this that girls' house? Where was she then? Where was Aang? I yawned again and continued on my walk. I heard something up ahead and hobbled towards the sound. A loud laugh told me that I was in the right house. Then I heard Aang's voice.

"I'm going to go check on Toph."

"Again?" asked Toto.

"Yes. I want to make sure she's alright."

"How about I save you the trouble, Twinkles" I hobbled forwards and I thought I felt someone coming towards me but I wasn't sure.

"Toph, where's your crutches?" Aang asked as I felt him put an arm under my shoulders.

"Don't need them." I tried to push him off but he held me tighter and walked me over forward.

"The doctor said–"

"I don't give a flying hog-monkey about what the doctor said," I replied sharply. "I don't need them to walk. I don't need anyone's help. So stop touching me." I pushed Twinkles roughly away and was unbalanced and ended up falling on someone's lap.

"Morning," said the voice of Toto under me.

I muttered a small and embarrassed, "I'm sorry" and tried to get off of him.

Someone grabbed my hands and pulled me off of him.

"Let me go, Twinkles, before I earthbend you into the next century," I threatened.

"Toph, we have to talk."

From his tone it seemed urgent but I was still mad at him touching me and _assisting_ me, but I relented and let him lead me into a quiet part of the house. He set me down in a chair and paced back and forth in front of me.

"Talk," I commanded.

He sighed. "Look, I don't think we're in the Fire Nation anymore."

"Earth Kingdom?"

"No. We aren't _in_ any of the four Nations."

"Space?"

"No! Toph just listen!"

I knew he was getting to his limit so I decided to push his buttons.

"Was the swamp in a nation?" I asked in a sort of detached voice.

"Toph, _fo_cus. We aren't in _our_ world anymore. I think…we're in the future. In another world."

I sucked in a breath through my teeth. "I think the fall totally dislocated your brain, Twinkle Puff. You're not thinking straight. I mean, how can we be in another world? I thought there was only one?"

I heard him scratch something; I think it was his head because he had a habit of doing it when he was trying to get something off of his chest. His muscular chest. His _fabulous_ muscled chest with his _sculpted_ arms and warm body. Those delicious muscles. Fingers were snapping in front of my face and snapped me back into reality.

"Toph, did you hear what I said?"

I bowed my head to cover the heat that spread across my cheeks. Katara told me once that when your face feels like it's burning: you're blushing and there's a color that shows up on your face that can humiliate you to no end if you don't hide it before someone sees it.

"I heard nothing."

"I told you that we are in another dimension. Teo's father talked to me about this kind of stuff once. It's like another world but the same all at once. He said that there are 8, well, technically, 9, dimensions. I wonder what drove the spirits to do that. I mean, it had to be them, right? It couldn't be anyone else…or could it? The only higher power above the Sprits is the Gods, but they've never really been involved in my business. How are we going to get back, Toph?"

"You know what I heard just then: blah-blah-blah spirit-y mumbo-jumbo; in another world."

I heard a growl of frustration and something grabbed the tops of arms, shaking me a little. "Toph! Please, pay attention. I mean, this is bad. Really bad. How am I supposed to save people from the renegades that have been attacking village after village if I'm not there! How am I supposed to keep my duty as the–" He paused.

"The what?" I heard Ana say as she walked past me. I heard a door open and close and the screech of something like a chair along the wooden floor.

"Oh, you didn't know? Aang is–"

I was interrupted by the Avatar himself. "Is–is very…thirsty. Can I have some water?" He sounded nervous and evasive. What was up with him?

"Sure, just get a cup. They're in the cupboard up there and the sink is behind me. You thirsty, Toph?"

I shook my head. "Sort of hungry though. When's the last time I ate?"

"Almost three days."

My jaw dropped. "What!? Three days!" Upon learning this little fact, my stomach suddenly clenched painfully and growled.

I heard the same door as before open and close followed by the sound of another door opening and closing plus the beeping of numbers.

"Are you mad that I told you?" asked the girl.

"No. Just kind of shocked….Why didn't you guys feed me?"

Aang answered, "You've been sleeping for two days straight."

"We tried feeding you but you'd fall asleep before the food reached your lips. I take it you have a low tolerance for medication?"

I didn't answer her; I was still annoyed at the fact that I hadn't eaten in THREE days! Were the doctors _trying_ to kill me? The door opened and closed again and the smell of food had me foaming at the mouth.

I reached my hands out, "Gimme! Gimme!"

_**After a very full and satisfied stomach…**_

"That was good stuff," I said as I lied on Lady's' couch picking my teeth with my foot elevated on pillows. I was calling the girl Lady, because she always acted like one. I was sure that this was going to get on my nerves.

"You…are a pig," Toto said.

"Well, excuse me, but you would be too if you were deprived of food for three days." I punched Twinkle Toes in the arm; he was sitting beside me.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"That, my friend, was for feeding me leechee nuts before we–" a subtle cough had me rethinking my words. Aang had told me that Toto and Kitty had questioned him on how we got here. They had suggested flying and Aang used the suggestion to keep from getting them suspicious. "Before we _flew_ here. Those nuts have no nutritional value whatsoever!" I amended.

"They are very nutritional!" He argued.

"Nuts do have some nutritional values," piped in Todd.

Lady came to my rescue, "Nuts are an acquired taste for some people."

I heard the door open and a huff.

"Is she awake now? She was giving me a heart attack if she didn't wake up – Oh, you are awake! How are you feeling honey?" Was it just me or did this sound a lot like Lady.

"I'm fine…who are you?"

"I'm Ana's mom. It's great to meet you. Ana, darling, can you help me get ready? I have to leave in thirty minutes and I can't do it by myself."

I heard the clicking of shoes going down the wooden hallway and Lady's muttered words, "With what little clothing you're going to wear I'm surprised you need help to get ready." To us she said, "I'll be right back. Continue watching TV."

****************************************************************************

"I can't believe my mom is going to the bar…again!"

"Calm down, Lady. What's wrong with you? It's just a bar."

"It's not the bar, it's the fact that she goes out every single night."

Aang and Todd had left before Lady's mom had come out of her room with her "scandalous outfit" according to the description Lady was giving me.

"Well, just be glad that your mom isn't trying to set you up on a date with someone you don't even know – Ow!"

Lady was in the bathroom with me and was helping me wash myself since I couldn't stand up and I couldn't wet the arm with plaster on it. I was in my wrappings while she was, thankfully, not naked and fully clothed.

"Sorry. I'll be gentler." She gently picked up my injured foot and washed it as carefully as she could.

"Yeah, you do that."

"So, your parents set you up on dates?"

I blew my hair out of my face, only to have it land in the same place.

"No. They are trying to get me to marry a suitor – Ow! I thought you said you'd be gentle!"

I heard splashing of water.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that…they want you to get married. At sixteen?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep. I'm of the marrying age in my…culture. That's the reason I was living with my other friends, Hotness and Sweetness. They, at least, weren't trying to get me to marry anyone and let me have my own freedom."

"How'd you end up here?"

I stayed silent while trying to come up with something to say. Why couldn't we just tell them the truth, I had asked Twinkle Toes. He answered, Because they don't know that we're not from the same world as they are; just let them think that we are so we can find a way out of this without involving anyone.

"The school I was attending had two positions available and they picked me and Twinkle Toes because, well, my parents are rich, and Twinkles had the highest grade in the entire school." That was a believable lie…wasn't it?

"That's awesome."

The only sounds coming from us for ten minutes were our breathing and the splash of water on my feet.

"So…"

"So what?" I asked.

"Is…_Aang_ promised to anybody?"

"Twinkle Toes?" I laughed. "That's a good one! Whoo, him getting married. HA! He's seventeen, he's had time to look for someone but he hasn't found anyone so far."

She gently lowered my injured foot so that it was soaking in the hot water as she picked up the other one.

"So, that's a no?" her voice showed great interest.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing," she hurried to assure me. "Nothing at all, except…well, he's just really cute and…it was just a question!"

"Uh-huh. Sure. Just a question right? Then why is your heart beating like you just ran the race of your life?"

I could feel the heat rise in her fingertips as she was scraping the bottom of my feet.

"Watch it with the feet will you? I don't like anybody touching them."

"You know what you need," she said, totally avoiding the subject we were just on. "A foot massage. More like a pedicure and an exfoliating scrub."

"I don't need any frilly do-dah or smelly thing put on my feet."

"It'll keep your feet from cracking so that way you'd be able to see _much_ clearer."

This intrigued me.

"Really? Well, let's get exfoliating then!"

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"Why do we have to put my feet in a plastic bag?"

"The instructions said to put them in a plastic bag."

Lady had just put peach smelling lotion on my feet then she put them inside a plastic bag and then she put a sock over them (she tried to be extra careful about putting on the sock on my injured foot). Talk about being sensory deprived.

"I'll take them off of you in ten minutes and then I'll put on the gauze, but we need to get ready for bed. Tomorrow's a big day."

"Why? What's tomorrow?"

"School," she said like it was no big deal.

"School," I repeated. "School?"

"Yes. Why, is something wrong?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't do well around other people. I'm not exactly your friendly neighbor kind of girl."

"Yeah, I figured. But, since you are a foreign exchange student and you _are_ living with me, you don't have to worry about other people because you will be in all _my_ classes!"

Whoopdeedoo for me.

"You're going to have to change your outfit though."

"Why?"

What was wrong with what I was wearing? Sure it wasn't what a lady would wear but I liked it. It defined who I was. I wasn't going to be caught dead in a frilly-froo dress if I had a say in it.

"Clearly, you go for the punk rock type of clothing, based on how you act. And…at this school…well, to tell you the truth, you aren't going to last a day with what you're wearing."

"Of course I would! Who do you think you're talking to? I'm Toph Bei Fong the Greatest–"

"Greatest what?"

"Nothing. Forget it. But, who do you think you're talking to, Honey?"

"You're right. You're too _conservative_ to actually consider the possibility of a new outfit. You're stuck in the past, Toph. But, that's okay. Go to school like that if you want. I can't wait to see what everyone does to you." She laughed.

"What?! You know what; I'll wear what you tell me too. No one calls me conservative if I can help it. I'll show you I'm not stuck in the past."

I heard the stifling of laughter coming from her general direction and that's when it hit me. I fell into her little trap when she took a hit on my pride.

"You," I pointed an accusing finger at her. "Are sneaky. How did you do that?"

"Well, I've been friends with Todd long enough to know how to make him do what I want. Take a hit on his pride and he's putty in your hands. You act just like him–except that he doesn't hit people–so, I figured that it'd work on you too. Plus, you should be thanking me. The way you're dressed will make you the laughing stock of the school. It's all about who's with whom and what kind of brand clothes you have to show off. It's all superficial but it's a good education, I guess."

I blew my damp bangs away again and brushed my hair away from my shoulders because it was down and getting on my nerves. "Sure. Sounds wonderful," I said with sarcasm. Then, with a sort of commanding tone I said, "Fine. I'll wear what you want, but if I feel it's too girly you're head's going to end up on a silver platter."

"Got it," she squeaked. "Did you know that you really know how to instill fear in people?"

I shrugged the compliment off.

"How are you going to handle school though?' she asked with genuine interest.

"What do you mean?"

"You're going to have to write and read from texts, you know. And you're blind, so, how are you going to do that?"

I shrugged. "Can't I just say I'm observing their teaching styles in contrast to ours? I think that'd be easy enough."

"Good point."

After she got the gauze wrapped around my foot, she left the room to go to sleep in her own bed. I was left to my own thoughts as I tried to get to sleep.

The problem with me sleeping was that all, I could think about is what Twinkles had told me when we finally got a moment to ourselves. He said I couldn't earthbend anymore because he couldn't risk it. What "it" was I didn't know? But when he asked me not to earthbend, I almost killed him. Earthbending was a part of my life, asking me not to earthbend is like asking me not to live; to stop breathing. He amended it by saying that I could earthbend; I just had to do it discreetly. No moving mountains and no pillars coming out of the earth. I complied when he asked me as, not the Avatar, but as my friend. That time he had dodged my punch, but today he was going to get it.

And what if people treated me differently because I was blind? No, I definitely couldn't have that.

The other thing that was bothering me was that I had never been to a real school before. For most of my life I've had tutors who read boring ancient texts to me while I took an oral exam afterwards. They were boring as heck. How was I going to survive? If all I had to do was sit and listen, I'd have to hit someone soon. Then again, I would enjoy that. I went to sleep with a smile on my face as I thought of the pleasures of punching some poor unsuspecting kid who got a little too close for comfort.

_**The next day…**_

"Five more minutes," I moaned as I pushed away the hand that was shaking me off my shoulder.

"Hurry up, Toph. It takes twenty minutes to get to school and you don't want to be late on you're first day," explained Lady.

"I don't care."

She pulled the comforter out of my reach and I was instantly cold. My eyes flashed open and I reached around me to try and get it back but I couldn't feel it anywhere.

"Give it back!"

"Nope. You are getting up whether you like it or not because I have your outfit all ready in the closet," she countered.

"Fine!" I yelled as I got out of the bed only to jump back because I had forgotten about my foot and I stomped it on the ground. I shut my mouth tightly so as not to scream and wake up the whole neighborhood.

"You forgot that you hurt your foot, didn't you?" Lady asked as I heard her rummaging through the closet for something.

I nodded and I heard her sigh and say something along the lines of, "Definitely like Todd." But I could be wrong.

"Put this on," she ordered as I felt cloth fall on my head. "Wait," she said and I stopped. "You need to get rid of that awful wrapping that you have around your chest. Don't you have a bra?"

"No."

"Well, I think you're a B, definitely a B," she muttered to herself. I felt a prick in my neck and that meant that she was looking intensely at me. "Hold on." I heard her footsteps fade away and I took that time to feel out my outfit.

_At least it isn't a dress_, I thought. I felt the outline of two rectangles that were attached to each other and thanked the Spirits that she had the decency to give me pants. She came back before I could feel anything else.

"Unwrap yourself."

"What? With you in the room? Yeah, right?"

I heard her exasperated sigh and was getting annoyed because she was getting annoyed with me.

"You don't have to take off the shirt, you know?"

I thought about that. Yeah, I think I could do it without taking off my shirt.

"I'll turn around to give you your privacy," Lady said. I silently thanked her. She was starting to grow on me. She was giving me something that my blindness too away from me sometimes: my privacy.

I reached under to unwrap my wrappings when Lady said something.

"You could totally do neutral colors, you know? Yellow would totally wash you out…could you do orange?" A pause. "Yeah, I think with your skin tone you could totally do orange. Just no neon, that's just weird and you don't want to be attracting the attention of The Populars. That would not be good. Your signature color should totally be green though. It just seems so earthy, so you, you know?"

"What? Who are The Populars?" I asked as I dropped the wrappings that were in my hand on the ground. "It's off."

"The Populars are the rich kids of this town. They rule the school and it's basically made up of – put your arms inside your shirt – of the most beautiful and vapid girls in the world with their Jock boyfriends. Lift the strings over your shoulders and I'll tie it in the back. You definitely don't want mess with them because they will ruin your reputation faster than you can snap your fingers." She jumped on the bed and grabbed something that pulled me back and I heard a small click as she clasped the bra tightly.

"Ow."

"You can keep the underwear wrapping for today, but tomorrow you're getting _real_ underwear. I'm guessing boy shorts for you. Anyways, take off your shirt and put this on. Definitely neutral colors for you. A brown tank with a dark green sleeveless shirt looks amazing on you."

"Why are you describing it? I can't see it."

"It helps me think. Anyways, that top coupled with the black, baggy, Capri, knee length pants looks amazing! If I do say so myself."

"Guess I'll have to take your word for it." I grabbed the pants and was about to put them on when Lady stopped me.

"You're putting them on backwards." She flipped them over and put them on over my legs and left them there. "There you go."

"I can dress myself," I said cuttingly.

"I know you can but you promised I could dress you. So, there."

I couldn't believe I agreed to that. But, even though I did not need help getting dressed, I did need her help with something else.

"Lady?"

"Name is Ana."

"Lady," I said in a final tone.

"Why do you call me that anyways?"

"Because you act like one; now are you going to help me or not?"

"With what?" she chirped. New nickname for her: Tweety or Chirpy…Tweety it is.

"Um…I spent some time last night thinking about this and…I want to hide the fact that I'm blind."

"Why? Are you ashamed of it?"

"NEVER. It's just that it'll help me avoid all the questions and pity that I don't need if I can just hide my eyes from people."

I heard her chew her lips in response to my answer. After a minute she gasped.

"OMG, I totally have some contacts that you can wear! The only color I have left is green. Do you mind?" She went on without waiting for my answer, "Actually, your eyes are like a milky green already. The contacts would make your eyes look like sparkling jades! Oooh, good idea!" She jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, leaving me stunned.

"Okay…someone needs to lay off the sugar."

She came back and led me as best she could (I was hobbling and bumping into various objects) towards a place where I could feel the heat on my skin. **(A/N: The bathroom has a lot of lights and lights give off heat…so, yeah)**

I held perfectly still as she inserted something in both my eyes. Surprisingly they weren't uncomfortable at all.

"Now for your hair!"

**Aang's POV**

Todd had told me earlier in the morning that we'd have to pick up Ana because she had her license taken up for spilling coffee on her mom's white couch. I didn't see a stain when we were at her house but I didn't question him. I asked him what a license was and he said it was permit to get to drive that big hunk of metal he calls a car. I had shrugged in response.

I was preoccupied with something else. We had never actually _told_ Toph that we were going to school. I was excited about the idea of going back to school but Toph was surely going to kill me for not telling her about it. I hoped that she'd take mercy on me and not hit me into the next millennium.

I said 'hit me' because I prohibited her from earthbending. I knew that it was cruel but I didn't know if in this world, earthbending existed or not for other folks. So, I decided not to risk it and make sure we were two normal kids in society. Toph wasn't exactly thrilled about it, but she agreed.

Todd reminded me so much of Toph. He commanded me to wear something else besides my clothes. I asked him why and he answered, "If you wear that to school your ass is going to be sore from all the ass kicking you'll get. Plus, you aren't getting into my car looking like that." I was going to say that I could just fly there but when I reached for my glider, it wasn't there. Needless to say, I felt stupid. Plus, it was my idea to remain inconspicuous in the realm so the glider would've been useless anyways.

He lent me some clothes that, thanks to my growth spurt, fit perfectly. Although the colors were more in Mai's general direction than mine. He was also nice enough to answer my questions about his car, like the parts and stuff.

I heard a honk that snapped me back into focus. Todd was leaning out the window and yelling towards Ana's house for them to hurry up.

Ana opened the door long enough to yell out, "Toph is in a freaking walking boot, you moron! Hold on!" Then she slammed the door.

"Girls," Todd muttered from up front. He told me to sit in the back because Ana's seat was always passenger. I complied because I didn't get what the big deal was about it anyways.

When Toph and Ana finally came out of the house I marveled at Toph. Her outfit fit her perfectly and her hair was away from her eyes and if was up in a something that resembled Sokka's ponytail except for the fact that it was teased in front and two small strands of hair dangled on the side of her face. Was she wearing makeup? A loud sound had me turning my head to Todd who was banging on the…what was it called again…a dashboard? Yeah, I think it was the dashboard.

"Stupid radio," he muttered under his breath. I heard a raspy voice of a man coupled with some loud music. "Rock, the classics."

I didn't know how to answer so instead I opened the door for Toph to get in while Ana went around to get in the passenger seat. Toph felt her way around the frame of the door and climbed in. After she had her crutches adjusted on her lap I climbed in after her and closed the door.

When I turned around I was met with a pair of emerald eyes that sparkled with the sun. I did a double-take and realized that this was Toph. But just to make sure:

"Toph? What happened to your eyes?"

"Is something wrong with my eyes, Twinkle Toes?" she said defensively.

I put my hands up in surrender. "No, not at all. It's just…can you see me?"

She waved a hand over her eyes. "I'm still blind you, Airhead."

"Are you sure?" asked Todd from the front as he shot Toph a glance from the rearview mirror. "Nice outfit by the way."

"Thanks," Toph said quietly as she turned her brilliant eyes towards the windshield.

"Are you wearing make up?"

"It's not a fish on my face is it, Twinkles?"

"I think it looks nice. Though, you would've looked much better without it," interjected Todd yet again. Every single time I wanted to compliment Toph, he just had to beat me to it. I looked down and saw something that you do not see everyday.

"Shoes, Toph?"

"What's with the interrogation? Yes, they're shoes but Ana graciously cut part of the bottom of them for me. Is that enough answer for you?"

"The material is flexible enough for that," answered Ana.

"Good job. Now you won't have a problem seeing, right?"

"That was the point of it."

After Toph's statement there was no way I could compliment them. She'd just turn my words upside down and make it into something sarcastic. But, I remained confident that this day was just going to get better.

_**In the school parking lot…**_

Wrong, I was very, very wrong.

Todd had warned me about The Populars and their reputation at this school but I didn't believe it.

This huge, muscular guy had walked up to Toph and Ana as they made their way in front of us towards their first classroom. Todd held me back because I was ready to go over there to protect Toph, then I remembered that Toph was Toph, she didn't need any help. But what about Ana? I stayed behind with the crowd that gathered around them as the Jock leaned up another car right in front of Toph and Ana.

"Hello, sweetness," he said to Toph. I could see that Toph's hand was clenched into a fist and I tapped the ground with my foot lightly so she knew that it was me. Her hand had trouble relaxing but she finally managed a sort of clawed position with her hand. The tapping was a warning for her to control herself.

"What's your name?"

"Toph. What's yours handsome?" Did Toph just say that? And the way she said it…wow. This guy was in so much trouble. When Toph used her innocent voice, you immediately knew to evacuate the area, but this guy just met her. Poor man.

"Name's Evan, sugar. Tell me, are you new here?"

"I'm a foreign exchange student."

"From China?"

She hesitated. "Yeah, sure. China."

"I've always wanted to go to China…maybe someday you could _show_ me around." His hand reached down to touch her injured hand and the other was trying to keep from clenching into a fist. "Did it hurt?"

"Did what hurt?" Toph asked, oblivious to the fact that he was asking about her that was in the green cast.

"When you fell from heaven because with a face like that you must be an angel."

I was not expecting that. I moved around to the side of the crowd so that I could see Toph better. Her face was in a tight smile as she tried not to laugh.

"How long have you been waiting to use that line?"

"Since I first saw you."

"And you couldn't have spared me? What a shame. Now I have to cleanse out my ears so I can get rid of the fact that I ever heard you." She tried to sidestep him but he put a hand on her arm. I was about to go out there when I felt a hand on my own arm, restraining me. Todd was shaking his head at me with a smile on his face and nodded over to where Toph was.

All I saw was that Evan still had a hand around Toph and Toph was just standing there while Evan said, "Don't be like that baby." I turned to Todd with a questioning face when he mouthed, "Be patient. Look." I looked back and Toph looked like she was caressing his hand but I knew her better than that. She was getting a feel of his hand and possibly body composition. Suddenly she grabbed his thumb and bent it backwards while pushing him down to the ground.

"Touch me again and your thumb will be the only part of your body that you will be able to move _if_ you're lucky," she said in a hard voice that made me cringe. Toph certainly did know how to take care of herself. Why was I worried in the first place? _Well, it's a perfectly ordinary thing to be worried for a beloved friend_, I concluded.

Toph walked away but not until she gave Evan one last push on his thumb that had him gasping for air. Ana walked beside her wide-eyed while whispering something into Toph's ear that made Toph laugh. Todd nudged me and motioned for me to follow him to where Toph and Ana were waiting.

"That was so cool!" Ana exclaimed.

Toph shrugged. "It's the basic form of survival. Hit your opponent's weak points and even the strongest of men will fall."

"True dat!" said Todd.

"Oh my gosh, did ya'll see that?" said this husky voice that appeared next to Ana's shoulder. "Girl, you rock." She was addressing Toph but Toph kind of tilted her head in a confused way.

"Oh," Ana exclaimed. "This is Heidi, one of my friends. Heidi, this is Toph and this is Aang," she gestured towards both of us. Her skin reminded me of Katara's. It was a bit deeper in color but it just reminded me of that. The painful clenching of my chest told me to stop thinking about her. I focused on the fact at hand.

"Hi, I'm so glad to meet ya'll. Did ya'll just move out here?" _What was wrong with her voice?_ "I moved here not too long ago from Georgia's red-neck county so my voice might sound just a bit southern. Hope it doesn't bother ya'll."

"We all have something that defines who we are," I said.

She smiled at me and her brown eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Thanks, man…I mean, Aang. What's your last name?"

What? Oh Spirits what was my last name again?

"His name is Aang Pippenpadalopsocopolis and I'm Toph Bei Fong, nice to meet you."

Who knew that Toph could sound so formal?

Toph stuck out her hand but accidentally hit Todd in the stomach who turned around to look for something.

"Sorry," Toph said without looking at him.

Heidi was regarding her with calculating eyes.

"Say…Toph. I don't mean to be _too_ forward or anything, but…are you _blind_?"

Toph's eyes widened.

"Me?" she pointed towards herself. "I'm not blind. What gave you that idea?"

"Tell me what color shirt I'm wearing."

"Blue."

"Wrong, I'm not wearing a shirt; I'm wearing a black jacket over a tank top because all my clothes are in the washing machine."

It was silent for three whole minutes before Toph gave up with a sigh.

"Fine, you caught me! I _am_ blind. But…how'd you guess?"

"Your eyes, Hun. I gots a Grandma who's blind and I put contacts on her once. Her eyes had that sort of dullish sparkly look to it, like yours does."

"So much for hiding it," Toph grumbled.

"Why would you want to hide it?"

Ana stepped in before Toph could say anything.

"Heidi, there are times when you need to keep your mouth shut. This…is one of them."

Heidi's face was apologetic as she turned towards Toph.

"Sorry about that. I can be too forwards sometimes. Forgive me?"

Toph shrugged and Heidi's eyes widened.

"Okay," she started. "I know that ya'll said to keep my mouth shut but this time ya'll need to hear me out when I say: walk away. Walk away like your life depended on it because it probably does."

"Why?" I asked as Todd pulled me away and we walked towards the humongous red brick building.

"Because Queen Bee is making her way towards Toph and she looks about as angry as my cat when I stuck him in the microwave." I looked at Heidi and she shrugged back at me.

"I was seven and my kitty was cold. How was _I_ supposed to know not to stick him in there?"

I let that slide, but from now on, I'd be watching her.

"Bitch, don't run away! Get your gothic ass back here," yelled an infuriated voice not that far behind us.

*******************************************************************************************

**A/N:**

**Sorry about taking so long. This eighteen page thing was long! Hope this makes up for my negligence. Look on my profile for a note on the stories I'm currently working on.**

**In case ya'll are wondering the ages are: **

**Toph: 16 going on 17**

**Aang: 17**

**Todd: 17**

**Ana: 16**

**Heidi (who is an important character in this story but you won't get why until later; I don't precisely know when): 17**

**The rest of the non-important characters will be in the 17 region of the age chart. They're juniors in Highschool.**

**I'll try to update soon, but tomorrow is Christmas Eve so I'll be beyond busy! **

**Hope everyone is satisfied. Don't worry if your not, the next chapter will be a lot more exciting. Toph and Aang's first day at school, different POV's. **

**Happy Holidays To All! **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	8. Toph and Jealousy

**Disclaimer: Well…we all know that I don't own the Avatar and I definitely don't own Phoenix, Arizona…Not until my plan for world domination kicks in at least. **

**This chapter was not meant to offend anybody. Since I am a Latino, this was sort of like insulting me but I found that it was fun to write. Sorry if I **_**have**_** insulted anyone, just know that, that was **_**not**_** my intention.**

**By the way, I don't mean to be making fun of the school system. But for my story to actually happen, well, things need to be less real and more stupid. Plus the Phoenix, Arizona in this story is totally different from the real one. This **_**is**_** fanfiction after all. **

**Read on…**

****************************************************************************

**Toph's POV**

"_Bitch, don't run away! Get your gothic ass back here," yelled an infuriated voice not that far behind us. _

I had no idea who she was addressing but I tensed up for a fight anyways. Someone grabbed my arm and pushed me forward so that I was in front of them. Behind me, no one was moving so I stopped too.

"You called your highness," said the voice of Heidi behind me.

"I wasn't talking to _you_ so get out of my way."

"I don't think so."

"This doesn't involve you, Beaner. I was talking to the gothic Asian over there."

I heard the shuffling of shoes and a teasing voice say, "Ooh, Kitty got claws." People around me were laughing at the comment. I stomped my foot on the ground so I could feel what was going one here. I had felt Heidi's body composition – that was similar to mine in stature except that I was actually taller – before but the person standing in front of her, almost five inches taller, was unknown to me. This must the "Queen Bee" Heidi was talking about. I could feel someone walking up behind Heidi, possibly to assist or restrain because Heidi's heartbeat was pulsating violently from what I could feel.

The arrogant voice was saying, "I have more than that you fence hopping freak."

Heidi huffed and everyone around us _ooh-ed_. I didn't get what was so insulting about the comment but I decided that it was best not to interject especially when I was being protected. _Why_ was she protecting me though? Was it because she saw that I was blind? I didn't need anyone to protect me. I tried to push my way towards the Queen Bee but an arm around my waist stopped me.

"No, Toph. Remember we have to maintain a low profile. Let Heidi handle this," Twinkles whispered in my ear. His breath made me shiver.

"But I could take her," I insisted in a whisper.

"I know you can but after that stunt you pulled back there with that guy's thumb, we need to keep a low profile. You can't just start picking fights whenever you want. Think before you act."

I let out a huff but that's when I noticed his arm was still around my waist and I was pressed against his chest. _Oh, Spirits._ I shoved his hand roughly away and hid my burning face from him.

"Excuse me?" Heidi was asking in regards to the fence comment.

"Oh, do you still have some of the river water in your ear? Maybe you should shake it out like a dog; I saw your mom doing it this morning."

Silence was coming from Heidi.

"Can't come up with a good comeback you Mexican hick?"

"How 'bout I come with my foot up your ass!" after that she said something but it sounding like it was in a different language and I could tell it wasn't an invitation for cookies by the way she spat it. "Let me go, Riley!" That comment had me tapping the sole of my foot down and I "saw" that someone was holding Heidi's hands behind her back. That must have been Riley. "Let me go so I can show this botox abusing – water bra using – _witch_ how we Latinos fight."

"On your back, begging for more?"

Silence and then in a voice much harder, Heidi said, "Hell no! Let me go," more words that I couldn't pronounce and some words that I should probably not repeat, though, training new soldiers, I have heard them before. I felt Heidi land a kick to the guy that was trying to hold her down and she was let go while the Queen Bee seemed to be turned around, talking smack about Heidi to her friends, and was very unaware of Heidi pouncing on her. That is until Heidi actually made contact with her body and brought them both down with a loud thud.

There was a squeal that I know couldn't have come from Heidi. Thud after thud was being landed on a body and all I could hear was a chanting of "Fight, fight. Hit her left. No, go right." Heidi was growling and the Queen Bee was screaming her head off in pain. I could feel three bodies coming up to restrain Heidi. One of them was Twinkle Toes and the other was Toto. I didn't know who the third one was.

"Heidi really knows how to fight," Tweety whispered in my ear.

"Think of a good comeback now, Wicked Witch of the West!" Heidi growled.

"Why is she fighting her? To protect me?"

"Not so tough when your hoard of wannabees isn't going to protect you because they can't afford to break a nail, huh?" Heidi said.

"Nope. Heidi has always hated her because Katherine knows what buttons to push to get Heidi to explode. Heidi is fighting her because she likes you and it's your first day here. Plus, she could care less if she got in trouble if the fight was worth it. And trust me; Heidi is definitely _not_ going to regret this fight because she is totally kicking butt! Katherine is the one who is going to be in the wheelchair after Aang, Todd and Riley get Heidi off of her. Oh, do you want your crutches back?"

I had given her my crutches when we got out of the car because I didn't want to hold them.

"No. What's happening now?" I asked because I heard a punch land on someone so hard that they stumbled back a bit before recovering.

"Heidi accidentally punched Aang." _What?! Okay, that's it._ _Wait, I can't go out there. Low profile and all. Plus, Tweety is holding me in place with her hand on my arm._ "That's why whenever Heidi is near me I try to have Todd near too. Heidi is _relentless_ when it comes to fights. That's why you really should wait until she gets out all her frustration on her opponent before approaching, but thank goodness that Todd and Aang intervened just now. Heidi just landed a punch to the sidewalk trying to get Katherine's face and I think I see bits of concrete stuck to her palm."

"Wow. She is totally my kind of girl, man. I could _so_ relate to her. _But_ she needs to learn who the correct person to punch is."

"Break it up," said this gravely voice with authority. "Break it up this _instant_."

I heard sounds of struggling and someone's soft voice telling her to calm down. "Calm down, you promised not to let your temper get the better of you. Why are you doing this?" he was saying. I figured that if she was like me, she was ignoring it.

"Who started this? I want to know _now_. If you spectators aren't out of here when I reach the count of three: detention for two weeks with me. _One_," I heard the scurrying of feet but I refused to move and so did Tweety. "_Two_," someone else walked away and there were only nine people left on the sidewalk. "That's it then, detention for the rest of you starting today. Now, what's this about?"

"Heidi just started attacking me for no reason, sir," said the Queen Bee with such an innocent voice I wanted to punch her.

"Bull!" Heidi yelled. "Mr. Dwight, she was over here talking crap about me and my friends. She went too far when she called me a Mexican hick and I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to walk away; believe me, I tried. But she made it really hard to do that." That last part wasn't a complete lie since she did warn us to walk away but there was nothing hard about it for her. She had wanted to fight the Queen Bee.

"Is this true?" I assumed he was addressing all of us and we all said, "Yes."

"We'll resume this in the Principal's office. Ladies, come with me."

Heidi was on the right side of Mr. Party Pooper while Queen Bee was on his left. I waited until just the right moment and I nonchalantly kicked my heel into the ground. I heard a yelp and a _thud_ coupled with restrained laughter. I brought my foot back flat on the ground and tried to stop from laughing outrageously.

"Hey, don't look at me. I was all the way over here, sir. It's not my fault her platypus feet got in the way," Heidi laughed.

"Go straight towards the Principal's office, young lady. Come Katherine, I'll make sure you get to the nurse safely."

I felt Heidi walk away with heavy feet while we tried to catch up to her. Toto, Tweety and that other guy were ahead of us and saying words of encouragement to Heidi. I felt a hand over my shoulders and I recognized Twinkle Toes light footsteps beside me.

"What did I say about a low profile?" he hissed in my ear.

I shrugged. "You said no pillars coming out of the earth. You never said anything about a little rock. Plus," I added. "No one saw it. I brought it down before anyone could see it. You worry too much. Have a little fun. And, you knew that she deserved it. I mean, look at what she did to Heidi." _She got her sent to the office because of something that was her fault._

He chuckled. "You mean: what Heidi did to _her_? That girl only got _one_ good punch to Heidi's jaw because the rest of the time she was busy protecting herself from Heidi's continuous attacks. In a past life Heidi must have been a waterbender." I could feel his heart sort of stop for just a moment before it restarted.

So it was true.

Every time, _every single time_, Twinkles thought of Katara, his first crush, his heart seemed to stop and I swear I could feel it clench painfully inside his chest. When we were on Appa I had said something about Sweetness and Sparky and Aang was beside me – Appa was on autopilot – and I was holding on to him because I was laughing so hard at the little story I was telling him, but I could still feel his heart clench for a moment before he started forcefully laughing. I didn't call him out on it, but this just proved my suspicions about how he was not over Katara. Would he ever be done with her? It's been four years; you'd think that in that time he'd move on but no.

Why couldn't he get his mind stuck on another girl? Not that any other girl would be good for him, I mean, he was the Avatar for Spirits' sake. Hey…speaking of spirits….

"Aang?" I said his name so he could see that I was serious about something.

"Yes, Toph?"

"If you think that the Spirits brought us into this world then why don't you just go all Avatar on them and ask them to bring us back?"

Wasn't he the mediator between our worlds? The Spirit world and the actual world? I remember Blowfish saying something about a time when he spoke to Tea man (Iroh) about his trip into the Spirit world.

I heard him scratching his head and he was stammering some incomprehensible gibberish and I was losing my patience.

"Aang, just tell me what has you so nervous. Your heart rate is annoying me so spit it out."

He sighed in defeat. "Well, I was actually going to wait until later to tell you–"

"That's a lie. You weren't going to tell me whatever you have to say, right? What's the matter; think I can't handle it?" my voice was just daring him to challenge me.

"That's not it, Toph. It's just that…I like living. I like being alive and I want to grow old." I heard a door open and when I stepped into the building I immediately wanted out. Stumbling back I clutched my head and got back on to the concrete. "Toph! What's wrong? Are you okay? What happened?"

I groaned. "Sensory overload."

There were so many people in one little concentrated place that all the vibrations coming from them were killing my head. The underside of the floor was covered in millions of bits and pieces of earth and metal which caused an increase in the vibrations that were hitting me. Only one of my feet was able to detect vibrations since the other one was incased in a plastic boot so that made the vibrations all the more strong. I took a deep breath and stood up. Not being one to let anything get in my way, I placed my foot down on the freezing ground and let myself adjust to the vibrations that were hitting me from all directions. I knew I was going to get a headache from being inside the building with all these vibrations but I decided not to let that get to me.

"I'm fine, Twinkles. Now, back to business." I hobbled inside as Aang directed me where to go. "I promise not to kill you if you just tell me what's wrong."

"Well," he began timidly. "I'm…_beingblockedoutoftheSpiritWorld_." I felt him cringe as if he was expecting a blow.

I turned my head towards him. "What?" I asked.

He sighed. "I'm being blocked out of the Spirit World, Toph. I can't go in; something is blocking my way."

"That sucks."

Silence came from him until he got fed up with my answer and hissed in my ear. "Is that all you have to say? Why aren't you hitting me? Or doing something?"

"Do you want me to hit you? There's nothing I can do if they're blocking your way in. if they don't want you in there then you aren't getting in. Simple as that. Hey, what about your arrows? Can people see them? And stop _looking_ at me." There were a lot of pricks in my neck that made me feel uncomfortable because it felt like a lot of people were looking at me, but they couldn't be looking at _me_. I rubbed my neck in discomfort.

"I'm not looking at you. You have no idea how many times I tried to get in but with no results. It's so frustrating. As for my arrows I don't think anyone can see them. They're there – _I_ can see them – but no one's been looking at them and no one's asked me about them. And no, I don't want you to hit me."

If he wasn't looking at me then…

"Who's looking at me, Twinkles?"

In a strained voice he said, "Every guy you've passed since we entered."

His voice made it seem like he was jealous. This made it too good to pass up.

"Jealous, are we?" I said playfully.

I heard him stammer as he drifted behind me in embarrassment. I loved making him blush, it was so funny.

"Toph," I heard Lady yell as she ran towards me. She grabbed hold of my arms and whispered, "Blink every once in a while. You look weird when you don't blink." She let go of my arms and dropped an arm around my shoulders. "Aang, are you hot? You look red."

"I'm fine," Twinkles said a little too quickly. He changed the subject, "How's Heidi?"

"She's okay but she's scared of having to face her mom. Can you believe it? She could've been suspended but she's only scared of having to deal with her mom…or grandma, depending on who answers the phone call form the school. And I've met her grandma. Talk about a hard-ass. Those are Heidi's words, not mine."

"I think I'd like her mom," I added as a thought. I already liked Heidi so why not her mom. I heard a wolf-whistle behind us.

"Toph, I think you have an admirer," Lady said in a sing-song voice.

"Talk like that again and I'm going to have to hurt you. Second: what admirer?"

"It's just some guy who's too cocky for his own good. Aang, you're turning red again."

I smirked at him.

"It's ninety degrees in this school; I'm not used to hot weather."

'Hot weather' my foot. He was lying through his teeth (technically he was lying by his pulse rate but I was the only one who could feel that).

This was going to be a _great_ first day.

________________________________________________________________________

This is so boring!

The teacher in Lady's first period class had me sent to the office because she didn't believe that I was an exchange student. Lady had slipped something into my hands before we entered the classroom, _your binder_, she had said. She had told me to keep track with it because it contained the papers that Aang had "lost" when we had arrived here in Arizona. So, here I was, sitting in the principals' office waiting for my turn to speak with him.

I heard footsteps that sounded familiar and Heidi's voice as she asked me what I was doing here.

"I don't know. Lady – I mean, Ana's – teacher doesn't believe that I'm really a foreign exchange student."

"Well, here comes, Aang. And, uh," she leaned in close to me and whispered in my ear, "word of advice: don't blink so much, you look like you're having a seizure. Oh, and when you're in there for the principal make sure you smile a lot; he's a sucker for smiles."

"Thanks. So, what happened?"

"I got ISS for three days but that doesn't start until next week. Thank goodness I didn't draw blood from Katherine, though. If I did I'd be facing court charges. Anywho, good luck."

I felt her skip out of the office and greet Aang before she skipped along to her class.

"Hey, Toph."

"Take the binder." I shoved the binder into his hands. "Leave the talking to me."

"Why you?"

"No offense, Twinkles, but you're not a very good liar," I whispered.

I felt someone come towards us with heavy boots that squeaked with every step.

"Step into my office you two," said this gravely voice that sounded almost like a rock-a-lanche or something grinding under my foot.

We both stood up and walked behind Squeaky. Twinkles took a seat and I followed suit.

"And who are you two?"

I cleared my throat and began in a formal tone, "My name is Toph Bei Fong and this is Aang Pipenpadalopsocopolis, we are foreign exchange students from China. We were chosen for a program that allows students to go around the world observing the _best_ schools in the _world_ and their teaching styles in comparison to ours. We both got sent out of our classrooms so we could discuss our stay in Phoenix, Arizona and at your school with you."

"Wow! Foreign exchange students? And _our_ school was chosen?"

"It's very prestigious and it should be an honor to be chosen by our school."

"What school was that?"

"The Bei Fong Academy; my parents founded it." I figured that if I threw in the fact that I was loaded they'd give us a break.

"What city is that in?"

"Gaoling. Aang and I both lived in Gaoling."

"Where are you staying at?"

"We are currently staying at Analese-Victoria Lov…what was her last name, Aang?" I'd have to involve him in the conversation so that Squeaky here wouldn't think that he was mute.

"Lovington, Analese-Victoria Lovington's house is where Toph is staying at. I'm currently staying in Todd Radcliff's house."

"Yes," I agreed. "The School Board chose them out of a select group of people."

"Very well. I hope you two enjoy your stay, please tell me what I can do to make your stay here more accommodating to your needs. Anything," he insisted. I felt that prick in my neck as I reached my hand out to shake his and he eagerly pumped my arm up and down. I guess the rich thing worked.

When we left the office Twinkles turned to me and commented on the Principal, "He was pretty nice but he looked like he was sick or something."

"Really, I thought he looked rather well."

He ignored my sarcasm. "I didn't know you could act so formal."

I laughed lightly. "Have you forgotten that I was born and raised in a high-class society? I just decided to leave it." A burp found its way out of my mouth and I sighed in relief. I've wanted to burp for a while but it just never came out.

"Classy," he noted.

I felt the footsteps of a familiar and very stupid person approaching us and she stopped in front of us.

"You better stay away from Evan," Queen Bee warned me.

I crossed my arms and leaned on my good foot. "Or what?"

She growled, "Or you'll have to deal with me."

I scoffed. "You act like that's a threat."

"Oh, it is. And you better steer clear of him and me if you know what's good for you."

"Like I'd even go anywhere near you and your stench." I held my nose and fanned the air.

She didn't answer but I heard her heels click towards my left, towards Aang.

"Sorry that you had to hear that, baby," she purred and I balled my hands involuntarily into fists. I hissed when the action put a strain on my right arm. I let my fingers on that arm relax while the other hand was balled tightly. "Maybe I'll see you around, cutie."

She walked away and I stood there seething. How dare she just threaten me and then start flirting with Aang?! Why was Aang's heart rate beating so fast? And what was the noise that was building in the back of his throat? I waited for him to say something.

"Toph, are you hot?"

"No. Why?" I said in a strained voice. Is that all he had to say to me?

"Because your face is red," he teased.

I turned my head and crossed my arms. "No. It's not. It's too…hot in this school."

"Uh-huh. Sure it is." He began walking away in the opposite direction, laughing.

"It is!" I yelled at him.

"Whatever you say, Toph," he said in a knowing voice that made me want to beat the stuffing out of him.

I turned and grabbed the back of his shirt and turned him around to face me.

"You think something's funny? If you do, then say it to my face, Twinkle Toes. I dare you."

"Nothing's funny," he said nervously. "It's just that…well." He didn't continue because he was being crippled with laughter.

_His laugh is so care free and innocent. I'm going to kill him if he's laughing at me. It was a nice sound though_, I added as an after thought.

When his laughter began to die down I put on my fiercest expression and he sobered up instantly.

"S-sorry, about that."

"Were you laughing at me?"

He didn't answer but I heard a chuckle coming from his direction. I turned and walked away without another word.

________________________________________________________________________

"That…was awful," I commented as we sat in Toto's car after school. Tweety told us that we could skip detention because Party Pooper wouldn't notice. Like I was going to go in the first place.

School was over and I couldn't be any more excited about that. It was so dull. I didn't do anything in all my classes. All I did was "observe their teaching skills" and pretend to write my observations down on a piece of paper. I threw away the paper at the nearest trashcan.

"It wasn't that bad, Toph," Twinkles commented from beside me. I turned my head away from his voice and crossed my arms. I was not going to talk to the little bugger until he apologized.

"Aang, you should have seen all the looks Toph was getting from all the guys in our class. Toph, could you feel them looking at you?"

"I felt a _million_ pricks in my neck."

Toto started the car and I heard a tapping noise coming from Ana's window. She rolled it down and said, "Heidi?"

"Hey, ya'll. Umm, think you could help me? My car won't start and I need somebody to jumpstart it. _Alexandra_ is getting annoyed at me because she's so freaking punctual and she doesn't want to be late because she has to hurry up and get to soccer practice. Mine doesn't start until seven so I'm good till then."

"Oh my gosh! You can come to the mall with us and we can drop Alex off at Park and Rec."

"That's cool. Alex, get in the back."

"No."

"Geez, what's wrong with you?"

I heard a girl with a nasally voice reply in another language and then Heidi's tone answering back in the same language that confused us all. It continued like that for a long time before Heidi yelled, "Oh my gosh! _I'll_ get in the back then. Sit on Ana's lap." She muttered angrily to herself as she opened the left side of the car.

Even though everything inside the car seemed a little fuzzy and disproportioned there was no mistaking the thundering beating of Twinkle's heart as Heidi slid in the car. It was a small space and since my arm was touching his arm I could just imagine what the thought of having Heidi – who seemed to remind him so much of Katara – that close to him would do.

Even though I liked Heidi, there was a part of me that was mad at her for bringing up painful memories for Twinkles. I knew she wasn't doing it on purpose but I was still mad at her.

We dropped off Heidi's little sister and that's when Heidi turned to Twinkles and said, "I'm sorry about my lil' sis. She's just…she doesn't really like people that she doesn't know which explains her lack of friends."

He took a minute to calm down his raging heart beat. "It's fine. I don't mind."

_What you _mind_ is that Heidi's arm is touching yours, you pathetic wimp_. _Can't even get over your first _crush_. I got over mine. Mine was _long_ gone. I feel nothing for Sokka now except that he's my friend. He's freaking_ married _to Suki._ As an afterthought I added_,_ _I wonder what Aang would do if he found out that Katara is expecting a little fire breathing munchkin. _

Yeah that's right. She's _expecting_. Sweetness and Sparky didn't know it themselves until the day before Twinkles had arrived and they thought it was too early to spread the news. I found out because I'm amazing...and I may have overheard them have the conversation in their room while I was walking to my quarters.

Maybe I'll tell him. Or we can wait till we actually get back to our time because this era was giving me a headache with so many annoying noises. There was the constant beeping going off at night and the buzzing sound from bees and so many children laughing loudly into the air that it annoyed me so much.

"Toph, does your arm hurt?" Heidi asked.

I blew away a stray piece of hair away from my face because it was scratching my nose. "No, why?"

"Your…kinda frownin'."

"The sun is blinding me."

"Oh. Okay." I waited and waited and waited. _Ding_! "Hey…you're _already_ blind." Then she laughed a short laugh. "That's funny," she commented. Everyone in the car started laughing at her.

"Your so random, Heidi," Todd said while his laughter was dying down.

"I try."

We made it to the mall laughing at Heidi and her random jokes all the way. Many jokes that she said, Twinkles didn't get and we had to explain it to him. There was one about a Jack in the Box that came from one of her favorite Latino comedians. When I asked her, "What's Latino?"

She answered, "It's a different culture from Asians. It's made up of Mexicans who are not all necessarily from Mexico. Take me for example, I was actually born in Chicago before I moved to Georgia and finally here."

"What other kinds of cultures are there?" I asked as we made our way inside. The mall was so huge and I could feel a basement right under my feet. So many people, too.

"Mexican, Asian, Indian, Native Americans, African–Americans…what else; Irish…and Caucasians, the world is filled with freaking Caucasians. Not that I don't love ya'll. Ya'll are awesome," she assured us...or was she assuring Tweety and Toto?

"What do Irish sound like?" Their name intrigued me.

"They roll their tongue a lot when they talk. Like: I'm 'avin a grrrret time," is what it sounded like to me.

"What language are you speaking when _you_ speak?"

"Right now it's English. When I was talking with my little sister I was speaking _le_ Spanish. It's the native tongue of the Mexicans. I speak it when I get really angry. You're probably better off _not_ knowing what I'm saying."

I shrugged. "I've heard worse."

"Aang," Ana said. "Go with Todd to find some clothes. Heidi and I will go with Toph to go shopping!"

I groaned. I had enough with Sweetness and her obsessive need for furniture but now I'd have to go shopping with _these_ people. _Spirits of Earth, please be with me in these difficult times._

"You sure?"

"Go, Aang," Ana insisted. "You will not have any fun with us…trust me."

Toto whispered in his ear, "Trust me, man, you do not want to be anywhere Ana and Heidi when they shop."

I was tapping my foot in annoyance and I saw Twinkles shrug.

________________________________________________________________________

"We've been here forever!"

"Toph, it's only been thirty minutes."

"Lady, _I_ am not made for shopping!"

"Toph, it's only a few clothes," Heidi pitched in.

We'd been walking forever in this stupid mall going up and down escalators and stairs. Do you know how hard that is to do when you are wearing a walking boot; the crutches weren't really helping either.

"Uh…maybe we should go in _this_ store," Lady said quietly. Her heart rate was going through the roof. What was wrong with her?

Lady's request went unheard by Heidi who was still trying to get me into the "spirit of shopping".

"Plus, you ain't paying for this. So enjoy it, girl. You know what? I'm gonna get you a job. Hey, Toph, random thought here: how do you get around? You don't seem like you need any help."

"Put your hand on the bench," I instructed. Her hand was on the bench and I gave it a smack near her hand. "Did you feel the vibrations coming from where I hit it?"

"Barely, it's wood."

"I can feel the vibrations throughout the floor." I showed her what was supposed to be the bottom of the shoes but the bottom was gone. "I can't really feel it with shoes on but without them I can feel the general position of a person in relation to where I'm standing. I can also tell that I'm taller than you."

"Yeah, crack jokes on the shawty. Ana, that's a furniture store. What's wrong wich you, girl?" It wasn't even _with_ you; it was wich you.

"Nothing…."

Ana's eyes must have been looking at something because Heidi began muttering under her breath. Heidi had quite the Soldier's vocabulary.

"Don't let him get to you, Ana. He's ain't worth a crap. Walk with your head high and mighty don't let him see that you are affected by his presence because you aren't, _right_?"

I felt a huge prick on my neck and my hand instinctively went to soothe it.

"What's going on?"

They ignored me.

"Toph, walk a little behind me."

"Why?" Heidi's request was a bit bizarre.

"Andy's looking at you like you're something to eat. He knows not to mess with me because…well…let's just say that I put the beat down on his–"

"Heidi," a deep voice said. The tone gave me goose bumps.

Heidi said something in Spanish and I figured she cussed him out.

"Calm down. I just wanted to say hello to Ana…and her new friend," the way he said it gave me chills but I turned my face into a scowl.

**Ana's POV**

When Andy said he just wanted to say hi, he was smiling wickedly at me and I instantly cringed. When he mentioned my "new friend" I got possessive over Toph. She was _my_ friend and he wasn't going to be able to do to her what he did to me.

"So…what's your name?" he asked Toph.

"That's for me to know."

"And for me to find out?" Andy questioned. The black leather jacket brought back some terrible memories for me and he seemed to just be showing it off.

"No. _Just_ for me to know."

"Feisty. I liked that." He touched her cast and she jerked her shoulder away from it.

"Touch me again and you'll be lucky you can even walk. Now if you don't move I'll make you." It was scary how Toph could be menacing in a green neon cast and a walking boot.

He disregarded her icy tone. "You have such beautiful green eyes. Something about you just seems special to me."

"You know what else is special–my foot down your throat," Heidi's voice was strained and filled with anger.

"Down Lilly of the Valley, I'm not going to do anything," he said in that cool tone that sent a shiver down my spine.

He just had to get on Heidi's nerves. It pissed Heidi off whenever anyone made any references about her being a Native American (which she wasn't) or a Mexican. I saw her hands clench into fists.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to walk away, unless you want a repeat of November 15th, 2007. Remember? Another minute with you and you'd be in a coma and on life support. So, _get out of our way_ and you _better_ stay away from my friends," she said through her teeth.

Toph was glaring at him and he seemed to shrink a little under her intense gaze but he collected himself and gave me a smile that had me shrinking into Heidi's side in terror.

"Bye _Annie_, I'll see _you_ later," he breathed and I wanted to hit him. It wasn't in my nature to fight but this guy was just asking for it. When he passed me he put a hand on my shoulder and I couldn't help the whimper that escaped my lips. His hand went to my neck and pressed down lightly before he dropped it and walked away without a look back.

Heidi saw this and she was going to go after him with but Todd came out of nowhere to restrain her.

"What is it with everybody and thinking I need to be restrained? I won't go after him…yet. C'mon Todd, even _you_ know that he deserves it."

Todd didn't let her go but he did agree.

"Who is that?"

Heidi answered Aang's question while I went to go sit on the bench with my arms wrapped around myself. "He's a stupid jerk who needs to know when to walk away. Great! Now I'm angry again and I need to punch something. _Ese estupido hijo de la_–"

**(A/N, Translation: That stupid son of–)**

"Heidi," I pleaded. After being her friend for the past couple of years I was starting to understand some Spanish and I didn't need to hear her cuss him out right now. "Just let it go. He didn't _do_ anything." _At least not today,_ I thought sadly.

Heidi's eyes were wide and she struggled with her words because she was seething. "He didn't do – _he_ didn't – he didn't _do _freaking _anything_? Let me go Todd, I'm not going to hurt anybody. It's cool, it's cool." She held up her hands in surrender and Todd let go of his hold on her arms.

I sighed as she came towards me. To comfort me.

**Toph's POV**

This whole encounter seemed a little weird and strange to me but this guy that just passed us seemed like such huge jerk that I just wanted to punch him. _Well_, I thought sarcastically, _this day must be the best day of my life_. So many things have happened today that it sort of reminded me of how we were always kept on our toes when the war was going on and Sourpuss was still trying to kill the Avatar and regain control of the four nations.

This day was giving me such a headache that it was probably going to turn into a migraine if it ever ended.

"Ana, he's a jerk. He's not going to hurt you. Dang girl, be strong. Don't let him get to you like that. Be assertive."

Ana sighed but didn't say anything.

Heidi tried to lighten the darkened mood. "Hey, let's get some blizzards. God, I freaking love the food courts. You can totally get Chinese, American, and even Tacos up in this place. But nothing is as good as a blizzard. Ya'll got to try some. But steer clear of the tacos because you may end up speaking Spanish because they're so authentic. Let's go." Ana stood up and with heavy footsteps walked beside Heidi.

I felt at the moment like I didn't belong. Heidi and Ana obviously had some sort of history with this jerk and it obviously involved Ana getting hurt but this didn't involve me. I was an outsider, literally. Aang and I walked behind him and I guessed he felt the same way. Like we didn't belong.

"Toph, Aang, whatcha doin' walking back there, walk up here. Walk up here." I moved to the right which was the empty spot next to Heidi. Aang walked beside me.

"Ya'll got to hear this. All right check this out, one day Ana and I were walking through the mall, everything was cool, nothing was really happening. But when we got to the food court I ordered a triple scoop of moose track ice cream and just as I was about to make it to the table where Ana and my mom were waiting, I didn't notice that there was a "Caution: Wet" sign next to me and I slipped on the tile. The ice cream went up in the air and came down on my chest and face. And that stuff was cold, man! Ana remember how we were practically peeing our pants because we couldn't stop laughing?"

"And you were pounding the floor with your hand because you were hysterical?" Lady asked in a voice that told me she was smiling a bit.

"It was hilarious! And then you tried to help me but your shoes slipped and your butt fell in the ice cream that landed on the floor. Everyone was laughing at us and that just made us laugh even more."

I heard Lady laugh lightly at the memory.

"And then your mom said, "That way you learn, stupid" and we were clutching our ribs because it was so funny. The janitors tried to get us up so they could clean but they were laughing too."

Heidi nudged me. "It took freakin _ten_ minutes for us to stop laughing. When someone started laughing we would start laughing and my freaking ribs were hurting for two whole days after that."

Heidi laughed and Ana joined in. The whole thing was funny to me so I laughed.

"Hey," Heidi said and it sounded like she was talking to either Lady or Toto because her voice sounded just a bit farther away. "Tell them about the time I electrocuted myself."

"That explains so much," I said.

Heidi laughed. "It does actually. Okay, like, we were in Mexico on vacation visiting my other grandparents and my feet were wet because I didn't dry myself before coming home after swimming in the lake. My Grandma was like, "Ay, plug in the lamp it's dark" and it was like one o' clock in the afternoon and the sun was shining so I was like, "_sure_ Grandma, whatever you say". I went to plug in the lamp and I accidentally touched the wire that was sticking out of the socket and for one whole second, my whole body stopped working and I fell to the ground. My grandma laughed at me and I was like, "Grandma! Did you see what _just_ happened"? She said she saw and all she said was, "That way you learn"."

Everyone laughed at her story.

"I was like freaking crying because, man, you ever been electrocuted? It hurt, like, so bad but that's all my grandma did. You know, everything is so we'll learn. Every bad thing that has happened in our lives, for Latinos, is so we'll learn. You guys have no idea how many times I've been hurt in my life and all I got from my parents was, "That way you'll learn, stupid". No sympathy from them."

The sound of Lady's laugh was ringing loud and clear. I had to hand it to Heidi, the air of sadness and despair that was around Ana's entire being, was eliminated because of Heidi. How does she do it?

Everyone else seemed to be so light and airy thanks to Heidi.

The rest of the day was spent shopping for new clothes at a discount and when Aang asked what Victoria's secret was because of a bag I gave Lady to hold for me, everyone laughed at him.

"It she has a secret why does she have a store for it?"

I laughed, "Aang, let it go."

"Who's Victoria though? Should I know who she is? Do you guys know what her secret is? Why is she advertising it if it's supposed to be a secret?"

I clutched my stomach and gasped for air.

"There," Toto stated. "Are some things that you don't need to know, Aang. Just leave this alone."

"Fine," he grumbled. "But I _will_ find out what her secret it."

I patted his back. "Sure you will, Twinkle Toes, sure you will."

"Oh my ribs. Oh they hurt," Heidi laughed. She sobered up when she found out what time it was. "Hurry up ya'll! It's 6:30, we have to get back to school." She ran out into the parking lot and hurled herself onto the car like it was her territory. Toto opened it up and this time I sat next to her and Aang sat next to me.

I only sat next to her because I couldn't stand to hear that clenching and pulling of his heart.

I heard Heidi next to me unzipping her pants and I panicked. Aang's heart stopped for one second before restarting and pounding loudly against his chest.

"Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing?"

"Taking off my pants."

"WHY?"

"Because I have shorts underneath and I don't have time to change in the locker room."

"Oh," Twinkles said in an embarrassed tone. I couldn't help but snicker at him. At the same time I couldn't believe how much of a guy he was.

Heidi didn't call him out on the rising heat in his body which indicated that he was blushing.

"Yo, Ana. Hand me my bag 'cause I'm gonna take off once I get there. I'll call my mom to pick me up or something. Thanks for the mall trip. It was so much fun. Crap!"

"What?" Toto asked.

"I forgot a hair thingy. Toph, I'm gonna steal yours, okay? 'Cause practice gets rough."

I took off the elastic thing that was holding my hair back in a pony–tail and handed it to her and just for the heck of it, I took off the beret that was holding my bangs out of my face. Shaking my head around a few times I felt relieved because my head could breath.

"Bye ya'll!" I heard the door open and slam shut as Heidi's footsteps pounding on the pavement faded away.

Twinkles heat against my arm raised in temperature as I figured he was watching Heidi run off.

"Hey, Toph?"

I turned away from him and moved to my own side of the car. There may have been a small truce between us at the mall but I wasn't ready to forgive.

"Why are you mad at me?"

"You should know."

"But I don't."

"Don't act all innocent. I know you were flirting with the Queen Bee and I know what you were doing just know."

He started laughing. Laughing! How dare he?! There was nothing funny about this!

"What is so funny? I don't see what could be funny about you flirting with the girl that was threatening me!"

"Your – face – funny – not – what – you think," he managed to get out in between his laughs.

I punched his arm. "Stop laughing at me."

He tried to sober up. "You have no idea what you're talking about, Toph."

"Toph, what _are_ you talking about?" Toto asked.

"We were in the hallway and Queen Bee was threatening me and then she was saying stuff like, "Hey baby" and "Sorry about that, cutie" to Twinkle Toes right next to me. Right in front of my face."

"Sounds to me like you're jealous, Toph," Toto teased.

I huffed. "I am not! I just don't want him to get mixed up in the wrong crowd. And she is the _wrong crowd_!"

_Jealous? Me?_ I'm Toph Bei Fong, I _don't_ get jealous.

"Yes, she said that to me." He wasn't even denying it.

"See!"

"But," the Avatar continued, "I wasn't flirting."

I turned to him. "I was right there! I heard what she said and I felt the way your heart rate was rising."

He laughed again. "You have no idea how hard it was to keep from laughing at her. Her lip was huge and her eye was turning purple and her cheek was swollen. I have no idea how I kept a straight face with her advancing on me like that. She looked hilarious and I tried not to laugh in front of her face but it was so hard. That's why when you turned to me I started laughing," he explained.

My smart answer was, "Oh."

________________________________________________________________________

**A/N: **

**This time it's Toph's turn to get jealous. **

**So, how did ya'll like that chapter? Review and tell me what you thought. The next chapter is probably going to be about Aang's day, or I might just do something else. Not sure.**

**The reason I didn't dwell on Toph's day at school was because she didn't really pay attention in class. All she had to do was observe, though, remember? Plus, ya'll know that Toph doesn't pay attention to lectures and quizzes. Geez, she's Toph for goodness sakes. **

**Anywho, again, read and review. The reviews make me think I'm doing a good job and they keep me motivated. =]**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	9. Day with the Guys

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar; if I did I'd be rich. But I'm not; so I don't…yeah. And I don't own any of the pranks. Wish I did though.**

**This was something random that just popped into my head. Read and Review please!**

**Read on...**

**________________________________________________________________________________**

**Aang's POV**

We were sitting in Ana's living room, watching something on her Television that involved a very mean doctor named House. I couldn't watch the gory parts with blood and intestines that's for sure. Todd laughed at me every time I turned my eyes away.

"I'm sick of this cast!" Toph's yells were heard from the hallway. I knew that even after a week Toph would be at her limit with people.

"You know what you need? A nice relaxing day with the girls. Hold on for one minute."

I heard footsteps and Ana popped her head out from the hallway.

"Todd, you guys need to go somewhere because Toph and I are going to have a girl's day out. So go." She turned back and walked down the hallway and shut a door.

Todd turned off the TV and looked at me.

"Wanna go meet a friend of mine?"

I shrugged, "Sure. Where are we going?"

"I don't rightly know. Guess I should call him."

He pulled out his cell phone and…used it to call his buddy. We left the house and started walking down the driveway to his car.

I heard parts of the conversation but I tried not to listen in.

"…You're stupid…I'm down. Hey, I'm bringing a friend, so don't act so weird. Bye."

"We are going to a truck stop where you'll meet one of my friends who's a glutton for punishment. And his brother."

It took us fifteen minutes to get there and when we got there I was not prepared for the sight that lay before me. Todd laughed.

I felt compelled to ask, "What is a deer doing on the hood of a car?" The license plate read, "From the Hills of Georgia".

He laughed while shaking his head but didn't answer me as he got out of the car.

"Follow me," he gestured towards a white van. He knocked three times on the back door and the doors opened to reveal a tall, lanky kid with super spiky, black hair with a red headband around his head and headphones around his neck.

"Have you started?" Todd asked him.

"Nah, my brother has to rewire something real quick. But hurry up, get in before anybody sees!" he hissed at us and we climbed in and shut the doors behind us.

"Who are you?" Red Headband asked me.

"My name is Aang. You are?"

"Skeeter. Wazzup?" **(A/N: Think of how Chris Tucker talks and you'll get the idea of him and his brothers voice)**

I shrugged.

Inside it was very bright and I had to wait till my eyes adjusted to see my surroundings. There were a lot of gadgets and wires on the floor and there was a desk in the middle of the van with a computer monitor and a microphone. Sitting in front of it was a guy who looked like Marcus's brother because of the dark colored skin. He extended his hand out to me.

"'Sup Aang, I'm Tommy. Skeeter is my 'lil bro. You down for pulling the legs of some people?"

"Um…I like peoples' legs attached to their bodies. I'm good."

Todd and Scooter laughed.

"He means playing a prank, Aang."

"Ooh, on who?" I said all excited.

Skeeter looked at me and whispered to Todd, "Is he gay?"

Todd shook his head and Skeeter looked relieved.

"Is the deer alive?"

"Of course not. You think we stupid?" Tommy answered my question.

I shook my head because Tommy looked like he could beat my butt with all his muscles.

"Now," Skeeter started. "We have two cameras installed in the eyes of the deer. Wait for someone to come by and press the button to speak into the microphone like this: Can you help me, sir? I seem to be very far from home. Don't run! I need help!" he cried into the microphone. He played with a joystick to make the deer's head move.

We went into hysterics at the look on the guys' face.

He handed the mike to Tommy and Tommy said, "Ay baby. Come and see what a buck can do to you." She ran off clutching her purse tightly.

Tommy handed the mike to Todd. "What are you looking at Tubby? Yeah, that's right, you better run."

Todd handed the mike to me and I didn't press the button; I handed it to Skeeter.

He growled, "Give me your kid." The little kid on the monitor hid his face into his father's shoulder crying.

He gave the mike to Tommy. "Halo? _Habla_ English?"

The guy responded in a think Latin accent, "No. No English."

"Don't walk away, brother! We blood! We kin, can't you see that?"

The man touched an antler. "Don't touch the merchandise now, you George Lopez wannabee."

The man walked away and Tommy handed the mike to Todd.

"Excuse me; I seem to have lost my place. Somehow I found my way onto the hood of this car, can you help me out?"

"Where are you from?" said the man in a cop's uniform.

"Hawaii brother. Makalalo, Hanalulu. Now untie me."

The man on the monitor shook his head.

"Well, then my brother, I seem to have lost something. Can you help me?" Todd continued.

"Sure, why not. What'd you lose?"

"I lost a whole bunch of weight but it seems like you've already found it!"

Skeeter almost fell down laughing. Todd handed the mike and looked at me expectedly.

I sighed and waited for someone to come by. "Grandma got run over by a reindeer/coming home from our house Christmas Eve/Blitzen didn't mean to run her over/but she was carrying a bunch of sugar cookies. Send me back to the North Pole!"

They looked at me and an awkward silence fell over the van as they shook their heads at me.

Todd told me, "We need to work on your delivery and just words overall."

I shrugged. _I_ thought it was pretty funny. I heard the song on the Television and it sort of got stuck in my head.

Skeeter turned to Todd, "Let's go, man. I got another prank set up at the park."

____________________________________________________________________________

We made it to the park and Skeeter was holding a soccer ball.

"We're playing soccer?"

"Nah, Aang. We are going to watch other people try to play soccer."

"Try?" I asked.

"Catch," he threw the soccer ball to me and when it fell into my hand I fell to my knees under the weight. "What's in this thing?" I asked in a strained voice.

Skeeter flashed me a smile that almost blinded me because of some shiny substance in his mouth. "Concrete."

____________________________________________________________________________

He left the soccer ball in the middle of the park and told us to go hide behind the bushes. One kid wandered up to it and took a running start towards it, trying to kick it towards the goal it was positioned in front of.

Todd and Skeeter were snickering beside me and I thought what they were doing was cruel.

The kid, who couldn't have been more than eight years old, kicked the ball and propelled forward, his face planted in the ground.

Todd and Skeeter laughed and I chuckled.

Five minutes later a group of kids walked up to it and challenged this one brawny kid to kick the ball into the goal. The kid took a running start and face planted in front of the soccer ball filled with concrete.

This time I actually laughed.

"That's right man," Skeeter nudged my side. "Loosen up. I think you been around women too long. Too long with them and you'll be _whipped_. And you don't want that."

"I don't?"

"Too late, man," Todd said to Skeeter. "Toph already has him whipped."

"I am not!"

They ignored me.

"Tough? Who the heck is, Tough? What kind of name is that? She from the ghetto? L.A.? Brooklyn? She sounds black. Oh, snap is it a guy?" he looked at me and back at Todd. "Did you lie to me? Did you lie to me?" His voice was so loud it was sort of deafening.

"_Toph_, you idiot," Todd reprimanded him. "If you met her you'd be whipped even before you open your mouth to speak."

"Gotcha. She hot?"

"Smokin'"

"Guys? I don't think we should talk about Toph that way."

"Shut up, fool," Skeeter scolded me. "We talking women. You a man, join in. Do you think she's hot?"

I shrugged.

"Nah, tell me. Give it to me straight? Do you think she's hot or not? She ugly to you?"

I shook my head.

"So she's hot?"

"I guess…"

Skeeter hit the back of my head. "Answer the question man. You like her?"

I rubbed the back of my head.

"She's my best friend."

"So she's hot?"

"I never said that!"

"So she's ugly?"

"No, she's really, _really_ hot!" I yelled finally fed up with his game and fast talking mouth.

Skeeter and Todd smiled at me in approval.

"You're a good master," Todd complimented Skeeter.

"Of course, young grasshopper."

I can't believe I just yelled out how hot Toph was. It wasn't until I finished saying it that I realized just how true it was. She wasn't just hot, though, she was beautiful. But she was my friend; I doubted _she_ looked at me _that_ way. _I_ shouldn't even be thinking about _her_ that way.

"Alright, follow me boys, I got another prank set up in the woods." Skeeter put an arm around my neck. "That was the first lesson you got from me. Knowing if you're whipped is an important thing, now…all I gotta do is school you in street."

"Street?"

"Word."

I scratched my head. "What word?"

"What?"

"You said word."

"Word."

"What word?"

"Oh, you kidding me right?" he turned to Todd. "Is he joking? Please, tell a brother he's joking."

"He's a foreign exchange student from China. I don't think he's joking."

Skeeter threw up his arms in frustration. "Oh my God! You don't know anything about the street."

I gave him thumbs up. "Word."

We stopped walking and Todd and Skeeter turned to look at me for a long time before Skeeter said, "Don't you ever do that again. I don't know what the heck that was and I don't want ever want to know. You know, I got some advice to you: I'll stay black; you stay white."

"He's Asian, Skeeter."

"Man, I don't give a crap if he's freaking Irish or Hawaiian or a Klingon, he's white enough to be one of youse and _no one_ needs to hear those kind of words coming out of his mouth." Skeeter turned to me. "Forget street, man, you don't need to know it and you're probably never going to use it correctly anyways."

Well, it wasn't my fault I didn't use it right. I didn't even know what the word "word" meant in his vocabulary but I guessed that now I wasn't going to find out.

"Take those caution cones and don't step where the leaves and twigs are."

We took the cones and went to hide above a spot where we were watching the trail.

"Watch this," Skeeter instructed. Two women were running towards the spot where we removed the cones and before my eyes they disappeared under the ground with a splash. I thought they were in trouble or that we were being ambushed but Todd's hand on my shoulder stopped me from helping them.

"They'll get out by themselves, Aang. It's only a few feet deep."

"That took me the whole week to prepare! Oh that's some funny – look here come a guy on a bicycle!"

When he got to the edge of the ditch his bike fell in and he just fell face first in the water. I laughed as he tried to salvage his bike and get out of the water.

I laughed every time someone fell into the water screaming that the ground was gone.

By the end of the day we were laughing so hard that our ribs were hurting.

"I can't believe that the fluffy guy screamed like a girl when he fell in. Good thing he could float," Skeeter laughed.

"And the face on those girls when they fell in," laughed Todd. "Hilarious. That was the mother of all pranks, man. I have to give you your props."

Skeeter was bowing elegantly. "Thank you, thank you very much."

"Thanks for a great laugh, Skeeter."

Skeeter patted my back as we left to get in our own vehicles. "Anytime, Aang man. You want a good laugh I have some videos that I recorded on all my pranks throughout the years. I'll let you borrow them, man."

"Thanks," I called out again before I got in Todd's car and we drove off.

I spent that night thinking about my day, about all the things I learned of my week in this world. I thought about what I said about Toph and blushed. I can't believe I thought of her like that.

Then again…it's not a bad thing if it's true.

________________________________________________________________________

**A/N:**

**So, did ya'll like Aang's day with the guys?**

**I'm amazing, I just updated yesterday and now I'm updating again...go me!**

**Anwho, review because I got to know how I'm doing. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

=]


	10. Sleepovers and Answers Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar…duh.**

**Read on…**

****************************************************************

**Toph's POV**

I got up this morning and hit my head with the cast, trying to scratch my head. Now, I feel like I have a bruise. When Tweety bird came in to check on me I blew up, tremendously frustrated.

"How are you toda – "

"I'm sick of this cast!" I yelled.

"Toph," she whispered, "Aang and Todd are in the living room."

"So?" I grumbled. "I am sick of this cast. I've had it on for a week and I can't stand it anymore."

"Ooh, I know exactly what you need," she squealed.

"Oh. _Please_, don't say it." I already knew that tone of voice and it only served to cause trouble for me every time Katara used it but now – in _this_ world – how was I supposed to handle it? I didn't even know where to begin.

"You know what you need? A nice relaxing day with the girl's. Hold on for one minute." She didn't even wait to hear my complaints and excuses as she went out to tell Toto and Twinkle Toes that they had to go so we could have our "girl's day". Ugh, why can't things go easy for me?

She came back and shut the door with a slam. "Oops. _Any_ways, Toph, we need to figure out what we're going to do for our girl's day out!"

"Eat and sleep?" I dropped myself back on the bed and tried to cover myself up but Ana had already stolen the cover from me. "I don't want to do anything! I want this cast taken off."

"Look on the bright side."

"Yes, I see it _so_ clearly!"

She ignored my sarcasm. "Well, you're only wearing one cast."

She was right, but I still wasn't happy. I took off my walking boot yesterday because my foot didn't hurt anymore, and I was more than happy to get rid of it. But I still had to wear the cast on my arm and it was pissing me off.

"Toph, there really isn't a way out of this – and death," she said when I opened my mouth to make a point, "is not an option." I fell back on the bed with a groan.

"Then what are we going to do?" _Might as well get this over with, _I thought grudgingly to myself.

"Umm…Ooh, I know! Let's call Heidi and see what she's up to. Maybe she can hang out with us."

The idea started to sound a little better now that Heidi was possibly coming. Over the past week that I've been here I've found that I actually really liked Heidi. But sometimes, with her randomness, I found it hard to get some peace and quiet. Every time there was some sort of long lasting silence she just had to ruin it with some blabber.

The only people I could really stand to be next with were Todd or Riley because they were both quiet. Todd was quiet but when he wanted to I could count on him for a game of wits. Riley was quiet but when he spoke, he spoke in such a way that made everything that came out of his mouth seem like the most important thing in the world. I don't even know how to explain it, but I did know that he was the calm to Heidi's torrential storm. Good thing for that because he did seem to have a calming affect on her whenever he was around her.

Ana was okay to be around but she was too peppy and happy all the time just like Twinkle Toes. And two Twinkly Puff's was probably more than the world could handle at any point in time. But Tweety was good at explaining all these mechanical diddly – doos that they used daily in this world. And I had to admit that it was pretty amazing.

I heard her punching buttons on her cell phone and figured that she was calling Heidi.

"I'm putting it on speakerphone," she alerted me.

"_Hello_?"

"Hey, Heidi, it's Ana and Toph. We're having a girl's day out" – _there was a giggle on the other line _– "and we were wondering where you were. Maybe you could spend the day with us and have a sleepover at my house?" _Another giggle followed by a "stop"._ "Okay, Heidi, who's there with you?"

"_Riley and I are in my backyard, playing…soccer._"

"We're not that stupid, Heidi," I told her. "So just tell us where to meet you and we'll be there."

"_No need to be so pushy. Riley you have to go because I'm going to hang out with Toph and Ana for a girls' day. So go._" I faintly heard an, "_No need to be so pushy. Bye honey"._ Heidi said, "_So just come on by and then we'll go back to your house, okay Ana_?"

"Sure."

I added in, "And don't worry we'll take our time so you and Riley can have some _alone_ _time_."

"_TOPH! That's not it. Riley was tickling me because he knows that I'm ticklish! Get your mind out of the gutter_." With that last note she hung up.

"Now, I'm going to do your hair!" Tweety sung.

I groaned audibly.

* * *

We were in Heidi's backyard and were trying to figure out what to do.

"Swimming?"

"No."

"It's hot."

"It's always hot."

"Please, Toph?"

"No. And that's that, Heidi."

"Can you swim?"

"No, and I have no desire to learn. So drop it."

"Fine. Ooh, how 'bout we go to the park?"

"Been there; done that," Tweety said lazily from my side. "You're not being very creative, Heidi."

"Yes, keep hurling insults at the only one who's coming up with ideas."

"If you say so."

"Funny, Toph," Heidi commented dryly.

"I try."

"Okay," Tweety did as Tweety does: wined, "This isn't a very productive "girl's day"; can't we come up with something?"

We were all silent for about thirty seconds before Heidi's spontaneous outburst.

"Let's play soccer!!"

Birdy – girl over there and I didn't say anything but I could feel the apprehension in the air.

"Soccer?" Tweety asked incredulously. "I don't mean to be rude but – "

"Let's make it interesting!" Heidi interrupted Ana's disappointment in the idea.

This intrigued me. "What _exactly_ do you have in mind?"

"Well," I could just hear the smile in her voice. "let's make a little wager, shall we?"

"Do tell."

"Ana, you keep score. Toph and I are going to play."

"Um, are you sure that's…." I knew what she was thinking.

"I can play," I said adamantly. "Remember: vibrations."

"Okay…"

"Anyways... now that that's out of the way – If I win, you have to let me give you a hair cut and teach you how to swim."

I shook my head. "No way." No one touches my hair.

"Are you…_chicken_, Toph?" she sneered. "Bawk, bawk, bawk, _bawk_!"

"Alright," I said indignantly. "I accept. But if I win you have to…well, let's just say that you better hope you win."

"Ooh, I'm so-o-o-o scared. First one to four wins. Bring it, honey," she challenged.

"Oh, it's on."

* * *

Thirty minutes into the game and it was 3 – 2; Heidi was in the lead. But that was only because she had lifted the ball into the air and hit it while it was still in the air, therefore leaving me to wonder where to block. I hate to admit it but this girl was good.

But so was I.

"Is that all you got, Tophy?" Heidi was still able to tease me while she was panting for breath. "Or are you just warming up?"

"I was done warming up a long time ago. Are _you_ _still_ warming up? Hardly the competition."

"Ooh, nice one Toph. What-cha," she faked going left and knocked the ball to the right and that's when we started fighting over the ball, trying to get it to our own goals. We were pushing each other out of the way and trying to get the stupid ball to cooperate with us. Finally, the ball was knocked to the left and we both ran after it but Heidi was a little bit faster. Once she got the ball to work to her advantage, she high–tailed it towards her goal and I was so tempted to use earthbending but I couldn't. I had promised Twinkle Toes but I had also promised myself.

I wanted to win, but I was going to win fairly. Usually, I would be all for cheating, but I couldn't do that to Heidi. Plus, I wanted to show them that Toph Bei Fong didn't need to cheat to win.

I was running towards Heidi when I felt a pair of familiar vibrations that were making me angry. Unfortunately, I knew exactly who those footsteps belonged to because at school they'd been following me around for a while now. I barely registered Heidi's drawled out, yelled out word, "GOOOOAAAALLLL!!" because I was busy focusing on Ana's pulsating heart.

"Ha – ha! I won. Whooo, I won. You lost; ha – ha – ha!" A pause and then she was seething. "He needs to get the hell off my property before I…" she mumbled some words that sounded like cursing in Spanish. "I'll be right back." She ran towards her house and I heard the screen door slam.

"Hello, fancy meeting you two here. Toph, Ana."

Ana gulped but stood her ground. "What are you doing here?" I guess she meant for her voice to sound fierce but it came out quietly.

"I was passing through the neighborhood and decided to stay and watch the game."

"You're in Heidi's backyard," I stated angrily.

"It's a free country."

"Not when the property belongs to someone," Ana said quietly.

"I wasn't asking you, _Annie_," he spat at her. I could feel her recoil into herself.

"And _no_ _one_ wants to talk to you, _jerk_," I spat back at him.

He changed the subject. "You look good in shorts, Toph. Really…sexy."

I guess he was trying to make his tone smooth and flawless but he sounded like a conceited jerk.

"I'm sorry," I laughed. "I must have given you the impression that I cared."

I heard the screen door open and Heidi walked towards Ana along with two pairs of heavy foot steps.

A heavily accented voice said, "You messing with my daughter and her friends?"

I could just see Andy's smirk in his voice. "No. I was just watching them play some soccer."

I heard a _click – click_. "I'm gonna give you two seconds to get down the block 'fore I shoot you for trespassin' on my property. I know who you are, and I don't like that you're on my property. And I don't like you. So scram. And I don't want to be seeing your face in a mile of this place and within a mile around Ana. So you better get going 'cause this thing's loaded and I know what to do with the body."

"That won't be necessary, sir. I was just leaving. Goodbye Annie, Heidi, Toph." He twirled on his heel and hurried down the sidewalk. Although he didn't want to show it, he was scared to death of Heidi's dad.

"You okay, Heidi? That jerk bother you?" said a gravelly voice.

"Nah, Juan. I just didn't feel like beating him up again. It gets tiring after a while."

"You're the devil."

Heidi ignored that comment. "Thanks, Daddy!" Heidi said sweetly.

Her Dad's voice softened, "You're welcome. Just tell me if he messes with you again." He walked over to Ana. "You okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine," she said quietly. No one had to be blind to know that she was lying.

I could feel him giving her a one – armed hug. "Just hang in there. You'll get over it, honey. Now, you guys want some ice cream?"

"Yes, please!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Here's twenty bucks. Go buy some, and I want the change back."

"You are _so_ cheap," Heidi grumbled.

"So you don't want the twenty? Fine."

"I was just kidding, Daddy! I'll take that." I heard some rustling. "Oh, and Daddy? This is Toph, she's a foreign exchange student from China," she sang the last word.

"Hi. I'm Heidi's Dad. You can call me, Carlos. It's nice meeting you. And Ana, don't forget what I said." He walked off but the other guys stayed.

"By the way ya'll, this is my big brother, Alex. He's on vacation from college or something so he's staying with us for a while. Alex, this is Toph."

"Nice to meet you but I gotta go. I promised I'd meet up with someone."

"Yeah, go and ditch us for your girlfriend."

'If that's what you want I'll be happy to oblige."

He left and I turned to Heidi. "You are so entertaining."

"My life is like a freakin' comedy soap opera. Now…I do believe I won!"

I was appalled. "What?! No you didn't! That was an interference! Or something! Ana!"

"Um…technically, Heidi did win. You hesitated."

I heard a raspberry coming from Heidi and I punched her arm.

"That wasn't fair. I _demand_ a rematch!"

"I won fair and square. No rematch."

"Scared that I may beat you?" I teased.

"Heck yeah! I'll probably lose if we play again."

So teasing wasn't going to work but what will?

"Please?" I asked nicely.

"Nope," she popped the 'p'. Heidi suddenly was walking on her hands. "I win!" she fell on her back and I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my throat.

"What's so funny?" Ana asked.

I didn't get a chance to answer when Heidi screamed. "Get them off! Get them off! Get 'em off! Eww! They're crawling and biting! Eww!"

My laughter turned hysterical as I tried to keep my balance and breath while listening to Heidi's squeals and screams.

"Stop laughing! It hurts! Eww, it's like they're _freaking_ multiplying! Get 'em off, please!" she squealed again.

Ana was laughing as she tried to help Heidi.

* * *

"Stop laughing."

I chuckled.

"It's not funny."

My laughter grew.

"It's really not funny!" Heidi wined.

"Yes, it _really_ is."

Heidi was currently dabbing cream on her itchy skin and I was currently laughing at her.

"Toph, don't be so mean," Ana scolded lightly. She was laughing too.

We were back at Birdie's house in her living room listening to a band called Blue October because Ana liked their CD.

"That's what you get for having such a big ego," I told Heidi.

"Ha…ha."

"Okay," Birdie announced, "Let's play something."

I announced, "Truth or dare!"

**To Be Continued...**

* * *

**A/N: **

**Sorry this chapter took me a while, second semester of highschool just started and I'm taking an Honors class so It's pretty much work, work, work and then hoemwork every day...but ya'll don't really care about that - anyways, don't worry, I'll try to upload the sequel to this one preferably before Saturday.**

**I want to thank everyone who's reviewed this story so far, it's nice to know that I'm doing a good job and that you guys like it. **

**I especially want to thank Actionfry for reviewing like, practically every chapter! You rock. **

**So, ya'll keep reviewing it, even if it's just a smiley face (P.S. I love smiley faces!), I'll keep writing!**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	11. Sleepovers and Answers Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar…grr.**

**Read on…**

* * *

_Last Chapter:_

_I announced, "Truth or Dare!"_

* * *

"Alright! Me first!" I yelled. "Ana, truth or dare?"

She hesitated. "T – truth?"

"What's the deal with you and Andy?"

She gasped. "Um…"

There was a moment of intense silence coming from all of us before the ringing of the phone interrupted us.

Tweety practically screamed, "I'll get it!"

"Toph, why would you ask something like that?" Heidi scolded me as soon as Tweety was out of earshot.

I shrugged. "I needed answers. I mean, she avoids this guy like the plague at school and when she does see him she gets all insecure and no one's told me why. Forgive a person for being so curious. And plus, you always get _so_ angry whenever he's around. _Why_, is my question."

Heidi sighed and Birdie came back.

"As much as I would love to continue with this little game," she said very unconvincingly. "I'm going to have to leave."

"Why?" We asked at the same time.

She emitted a disgusted groan. "My mom wants me to pick her up because her designated driver is…well, not so designated anymore. Anyways, I'll be back in an hour or less."

Heidi waited until she heard the front door slam before she said anything.

"The answers you want might not be so pretty but you do deserve to know; the same thing might happen to you if you're not careful. But you have to _swear_ that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you."

"I swear on earth that I won't tell a soul."

"'Earth'? Never mind. Okay, well last year Ana was all bubbly and happy, like she is most of the time, and then she met the new kid, Andy Warhawk. He was from Brooklyn and he thought he was so big and bad, right? Well, Ana fell for him and they started going out. Well, hey, you know how hot it is in Phoenix, right?" I nodded my assent. "I started noticing that like a month into their relationship, Ana started wearing long sleeve shirts. So I thought, "That's a little weird", and I decided to investigate. When I asked her why she was wearing those shirts she said, "I just feel colder nowadays". And, of course, I didn't buy it. I mean, c'mon, this is _Phoenix_. The low is 85 degrees _at least_.

"So, I started doing my own detective work, inconspicuously, of course. One day, I was in the girls' bathroom stall doin' my make–up – I have this thing about doing my make– up in front of people; I just can't do it," she said quickly; I responded by nodding my head, "Anyways, that's when I heard someone come in. From the shoes that that person wore, I knew it was Ana. She had locked the main door and she was checking underneath the stalls for any sign of people; she didn't know I was there and I saw her taking off her shirt. At first I thought about making a sarcastic – actually, it'd be more sardonic than sarcastic -comment like, "Practicing for your future career?" but when I saw what was on her back, I couldn't say anything."

Heidi took a deep breath and then let it out in a gust before continuing.

"There were fist–sized purple and blue and yellow and you have _no idea_ what those colors are…well, there were huge bruises on her back and her arms. I heard a stall door slam before I figured out that it was me. I stood there, _gaping_ at her. My first reaction was anger, as it usually is, but Ana looked so scared she was practically shaking and I thought better of my reaction. Instead I asked her, "Where did you get those marks?" And she had the nerve to lie to me again. "I was playing tennis with my mom and missed most of the time," she said. And then I was like, "Woman, you can either lie to me again and see where it leads you, or you can tell me the truth and I can help you". She broke down crying and told me the whole story.

"Andy was hurting her and there was nothing she could do. He was stronger than her, and he was hurting her mentality too, calling her names and lowering her self-esteem. After the story I was, like, going to go find him and kill him – a natural reaction – but she told me to stop. It's not like she _loved_ him or anything, but she did like him, and he hurt her. Naturally, the next time I saw him I got so angry that all I could see was a red haze in front of my eyes and the next thing I know Riley and Todd and Skeeter are pulling me off of Andy. She broke up with him while he was in the hospital and behind her back I threatened him that if he ever touched her, this time I wouldn't hesitate to put him in the morgue."

For two whole minutes I couldn't say anything but Heidi wasn't done.

"Andy is a bad guy, Toph, and I don't want to see him hurting you. So, just _try_ and steer clear of him, okay?"

"Of course. But now I'm kinda thinking about kicking his butt too. How could he do that to _her_!? She never did anything to him. What kind of sick, twisted –"

"Toph. Andy _is_ a sick and twisted individual. He thrives on the high being in control gives him. But, lately, he's been coming around us more and I think it's because of you. You rebuke him and insult him and that takes away some of his power, and he's not happy about that. To him, you're just an object that he has to control. So, please be more careful around him. _Promise_?"

"Promise," I whispered. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that someone would want to hurt Ana.

"Let's stop talking about this because then I'm going to get mad. Let's just continue playing. So, Toph, truth or dare?"

"Um…truth."

"Who do you like? As in boyfriend material like?"

"No one."

"Is it Aang?"

"No! What's wrong with you? I just said that I didn't like anybody!"

"You're blushing," she sang, "That means you like him. Ooh, la la la, ha ha ha ha, you like him, _you like him_."

I reached out to punch her leg.

"I do not," I said indignantly.

"It's okay if you do. No one's going to, like, assassinate you or anything like that for admitting it."

"Truth or dare," I growled, switching subjects.

"Truth."

"Umm…with who and how was your first kiss?"

"Why do you want to know?" she asked in a knowing voice.

"Just shut up and answer the question," I spat.

"Let's not be so hostile here. Well, believe it or not, Riley was my first kiss and my first boyfriend. Weird, huh? It was…really good, actually."

"Define 'really good'."

"Well, Riley is like a freaking gift from the Gods! He has very talented lips, let me tell you…. Although, our first kiss would have been a bit more romantic if I didn't push him away and if he didn't fall in the process. But can you blame me, I've never been kissed before him and I had no idea what to do. I panicked, to say the least. Other than the laugh we both got out of that night, it was just amazing. Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to…" she paused to think and then began singing, "to move / I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor / I dare you to move / like today never happened / like today never happened before…. Sorry, the chance was there and I took it. Umm, I dare you to drink the toilet water."

"Ew," I stated.

"Don't be such a wimp. Just one sip."

_I was_ not _a_ _wimp_. "Fine. Lead me to it."

* * *

"That was the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted in my life."

Heidi laughed.

"Truth or dare," I asked.

"Truth."

"Why won't you pick a dare?"

"Because I'm scared of what kind of torture you'll subject me to. Truth or dare?"

"Truth. I'm not doing another dare until you do at least one."

"Um…did you know that Todd likes you?"

"What?!"

"Answer the question."

"Don't get smart, Heidi."

"Should I try being dumb?"

"Not what I meant and you know it. What do you mean _Todd_ likes me?"

"He's not very vocal with his feelings but if you knew the way he's been looking at you for the past week, you'd know what I mean. And, I think Aang likes you too."

"WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE YOU GETTING THIS INFORMATION?!"

"Look, I know I'm random and spacy at times but I'm actually quite intelligent. I'm making all A's in my classes and I know a lot but I don't like showing it. Not that much anyways. Plus, I'm an _observer_ and I can tell you things about people that they themselves thought no one knew. And…you really _don't_ feel the sort of tension in the room when it's just you and Todd or you and Aang?"

"I wouldn't know; I never have a moment's peace around here and I haven't spent time with Twinkle Toes in a _long_ time."

"Hey, Toph, do you think I remind Aang of anyone?"

"Like who?"

"I don't know. A friend, someone he lost, or someone he likes from back in China?"

"I think you remind him of Sweetness, although, you're more like Sparky in the sense that you like to fight. I guess you must look like her because I know it's not your personality that reminds him of Katara."

"That's a pretty name."

"Why do you ask? Has he mentioned her, or something?" He shouldn't be thinking about Katara; he needs to get over her and soon because this "I love her but I lost her" stuff is getting on my nerves.

"Well…it's just the way he _looks_ at me. Riley's noticed it too and that's why whenever Aang is around me, Riley just pops up to claim me or something. But, I don't know, Aang is a nice guy but I don't like him like that and I don't like the fact that whenever he looks at me it looks like his heart's about to burst."

She was so right. "I'll talk to him, but, like I said, I haven't really talked to him in a long time."

"Sucks when that happens. I mean, gosh, I can't even spend time with Riley because my whole family is like freaking stalking me when I go out with him. You have no idea how many times I've caught my dad or my brother following us around. _Trust me_, you know?"

"My parents don't trust me either, but they're alright with having me marry a complete stranger."

I heard a thud on the floor and I joined Heidi on the floor.

"When you go back to China are you going to have to marry someone?"

"If I want my money."

I heard her get up and I could feel her looking at me. "Money? You mean if you marry you'll get money? I don't get it."

"Last time I visited them, I was there for a week. But I wasn't there alone. My parents had arranged for suitors from the middle ring all the way up to almost royalty, to come to their house to meet me so that I could choose one." I shuddered at the ugly memory. "They told me that if I don't choose a husband by the time I turn 17 then I won't have a right to my inheritance. They might as well have said that they don't think that a blind girl like me should have all the money and not even be able to look out for it, to my face. Even after all I've done to show them that I'm not weak and I can take care of myself, they still won't believe me."

Heidi lay back down. "I swear: parents are the weirdest things."

I could _not_ argue with that.

* * *

We were back beneath the hot lights and I tried not to tremble at the thought of Heidi cutting my hair. True, I did want to get rid of the weight but…the thought of a sharp object anywhere near my head that I can't see…sort of unnerved me.

"Alrighty then! Don't worry, I won't give you a bob or anything like that, though, you could pull it off…nah, I'll keep the length. Well, all I'm really doing is giving you some layers and trimming your bangs so that they're, like, just a bit below your cheekbones. Ooh," she squealed. "I can't wait!"

A hairbrush touched my head and I jerked away.

"Toph, do you trust me?"

"I've only known you for a week."

"And in that week, do you believe me capable of causing harm…to those I care about?"

I hesitated. "N – no. But this is my _hair_ we're talking about."

"Do you trust me not to cut you?"

"Um…."

"Here, plug in and I guarantee that I'll be done 'fore you can say…Tinker bell."

I stuck the headphones in my ear and Heidi turned on the little music device and the sweet sounds of my new favorite band, Flyleaf, began playing.

And with that she began snipping away as I held my hands so tightly in fists that they became numb after a few minutes.

"Tinker bell."

* * *

Oh my gosh…my hair!

"It feels so light." I ran my hands through the front of it because my hand didn't extend to my back. "And so smooth." I shook it around. "It's so light!" I repeated.

"I have a gift."

I head the sounds of a door being opened and two people, one sober and the other…not, walking in and headed upstairs. After a few minutes, Ana came back downstairs and flopped down on her bed from the sound of the mattress.

"Rough night?"

"Unbelievably."

"Sorry…but hey, look what I did to Toph!"

"She almost murdered me," I explained to Ana.

"You look so gorgeous, Toph! OMG, I can't believe all the layers you have. Did you thin it?"

Heidi answered, "Thinning is my specialty. Wish I could do it to my hair though. But seriously, Toph, you are 'effing beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"Stop lying. I don't need a confidence boost," I stated. "You're lucky the only reason I was letting you do my hair was because I lost the wager. And I still want a rematch."

"But we're not lying," Ana assured me. "You really are pretty. I mean, you should of have seen all the looks that you were getting from all the guys at school on your first day."

"I didn't have to see them; I could feel them just as clearly."

Heidi seemed to sympathize with me, "I hate when it feels like someone's staring at you and, I mean, I always get like a prick in my neck when I feel like I'm being watched. I'm practically blind, too, Toph, I have to wear glasses. Ugh."

"You wear glasses?"

"Ever since second grade. But when I have practice I try to wear contacts."

"Can I feel them?"

I felt cold metal in my outstretched hand. I felt the outline of it and tried to remember the last time I had felt a pair of glasses. It was Blowfish who gave me my first specs to feel. But these, Heidi's glasses, were sort of heavy and rectangular shaped and made of…copper, I think it was. I've been practicing the feel of different kinds of metals in my spare time back in the Fire Nation.

…But I'm not in the Fire Nation anymore. I'm not even in the same era. I gave the glasses back and curled up on the bed, yawning.

"Oh God," Heidi exclaimed just before an even bigger yawn than mine overpowered her. "What time is it, Ana?"

Ana yawned too before answering, "One in the freaking morning."

"Ew," Heidi exclaimed. "Let's finish up with the Truth and Dare in the morning, ya'll. Right now let's please get some sleep.

Ana and Heidi both climbed into my large bed and draped about four blankets on top of me. For Phoenix, this was a very cold room.

Ana was at the edge of the bed and Heidi was in the middle, leaving me the other end. Heidi was long gone to the realm of dreams and Ana was just starting to drift off. I tried to go asleep, believe me, I tried, but I just couldn't get to sleep. There was something that was nagging me in the back of my head; I just didn't know what it was.

I chalked it up to missing Blowfish. I mean, he's been there for me and has always treated me as an equal. I was missing Tea man too. I loved the intellectual conversations that we'd get into and that kind of talk never bored me when I was with him. I sighed and curled up tighter. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I came up with a solution to get back to my time, a time where things made sense. A time where I could actually earthbend.

Earthbending…. That's it! That's what I've been missing. So far, I've been busy hanging out with Ana, Heidi, Todd, and Riley – to try to convince them that we're from where they think we're from – to even think about earthbending.

Cast or not, I had to earthbend soon. I mean, I've been touching the earth without really _feeling_ it. The earth is the only thing that connects me to this world and I haven't been giving it the proper attention it should have been getting from me.

A tap on the window interrupted my thoughts. Then a loud whisper, "Toph! Toph, open the window."

I got up and silently opened the window. "It's like two o' clock in the morning, Twinkles. What do you want?"

"I think I found a way to get into the Spirit World."

* * *

**A/N: **

**It's like almost midnight but I can't post until tomorrow. Ugh. But I'm finally finished with this chapter! =] Sorry to all the people who think that Toph and Aang aren't getting enough alone time, but I just wanted to show the different friendships formed in this new, modern world and how Toph and Aang realize that they actually do like this world, but continue missing the old one. **

**Okay, that's it for my updates on all my stories for at least a week or so. I'm going to have like a hectic couple of weeks but I will try to update soon. **

**Please leave reviews to tell me if I'm doing a good job or to give me some constructive criticism. They would be much appreciated. **

**And a big thanks to all those people who review: Love ya'll!**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	12. The Spirit World Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar…grr.**

**Read on…**

**Toph's POV**

I gasped. He couldn't really be serious…could he? I mean, he said he'd been trying all week long but to no avail. What happened?

Behind me I heard Ana stir and I shut my mouth. I motioned Twinkle Toes out the window and followed behind. Quietly, I closed the window and prayed that no one would hear us as we walked into the night.

* * *

"Okay," I said as we slowed down to a walk about thirty minutes after we had actually left Birdie's place, "explain."

"There are still people around. I need to talk to you in private. No one can hear what we're talking about, remember?"

I stomped my foot down and focused my entire mind and body on finding a private place for us. Faintly, I could sense the outline of a canyon but I couldn't be sure that's what it was.

"Follow me." I grabbed his hand and began running towards the desert.

* * *

"Woah…" Twinkle Toes trailed off as he looked at the canyon I dragged him to.

"What's the big deal? It's just a canyon." Even though I acted nonchalantly about the canyon, the truth was that I thought it looked amazing. Of course I wasn't really looking at it the way Twinkles was, but I could feel how huge and wonderful it really was. I could feel that there were actually a couple of villages near the bottom, all abandoned. There was also a waterfall from what I could tell and I could hear the way it flowed and it sounded beautiful. "Let's go down. I've been itching to earthbend for a long time."

I got in my horsestance and was about to lower myself into the canyon when Twinkles' voice stopped me.

"Do you really think you should be doing that? I mean, you're arm–"

"Screw my arm–do you know how long I've been wanting to earthbend. I _can_ do it and there's nothing you can do to stop me. So, _deal with it_," I spat in his face.

Before he could protest or say anything I earthbended myself down into the canyon. I kept my mouth shut and closed my eyes so tightly that it hurt, but not as bad as my arm. My arm hurt _so badly_ but I couldn't let Twinkles know that. I made it about a quarter of the way down before the pain was too intense for me to handle. I could hear Twinkle Toes beside me.

"Told you so," he said haughtily as he sat down on the shelf that I created to pull myself down.

I took a minute to answer as I tried to control my voice from shaking.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He laughed and it made me jump. I hadn't heard him laugh like that in a long time and it was weird how much I'd missed it. I shook the thought off.

"Oh please," he laughed at me and I wanted to hit him but my arm was hurting too much. It was like a pulsing pain that wouldn't go away. "I told you that it'd hurt and there you go doing it anyway."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I repeated in my non-caring voice.

He laughed again and I felt a tug on my heart but I ignored it. "Look, I know it hurts. Stop lying. All the energy that you've put into earthbending yourself down here was partly in your arms and one of your arms is broken; it makes sense why you stopped a quarter of the way down."

I sighed dramatically. "You're so full of it. I was just resting, I mean, I haven't earthbended in a long time. Take me down."

Twinkle Toes, never being one to refuse a command especially from me, brought us both down and I silently thanked him. I sat down, meditation style, while holding my pulsing arm. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we were actually alone. And the fact that it was with Twinkle Toes…_I think Aang likes you too…don't you ever feel the tension between you two_? Heidi had asked me earlier. No, Aang wasn't like that. We were just friends. Maybe Heidi's been hitting the cactus juice a little too much. Yeah, that had to be it.

But wait, I said that I'd talk to him about Katara. I told Heidi that I would, but how was I going to do that? Maybe I could just work up to it. Absentmindedly I wondered why he hasn't said anything about my hair.

I shook my head to get rid of those thoughts that would only lead to nothing. "So, explain."

I could feel his heartbeat spike as he got excited over his new revelation.

"Get this–I was in Todd's room, just lying around thinking, _how can I get Toph and me out of this world_. And it suddenly hit me: I've been trying to get to the Spirit World on my own, but we came into this world _together_."

He was so redundant sometimes. He was just like Ana in that way. _No wonder Ana likes him_, I thought bitterly. Why my thought was so bitter I couldn't explain so I just shrugged it off like I usually do.

"Get to the point."

"We have to go into the Spirit World together, not just me. We came into this world together and we have to figure out a way out _together_."

"Whoopdedoo, now can we hurry this up?"

I heard him gasp.

**Aang's POV**

Was she asking me to take her into the Spirit World? I'm being a hypocrite: this was my plan in the first place. I didn't know if I could do that. What if something happened and I couldn't protect her?

"Umm, I don't know if I can take you there…"

"What do you mean?" She stood up to face me. "I thought you said that we'd need to figure a way back together?"

I gasped dramatically. "You actually listened to me?!" She turned around to hit me with the hand that wasn't hurt. "Ow!"

"Don't be a smart ass; it doesn't suit you."

"Okay, okay. But, I just don't think that I could do that to you. Take you with me, I mean," I said, the air around us growing serious.

"So what?" She said as she stood up and walked off. I looked at her in the dark as she walked off for a while until I followed after her.

"What do you mean 'so what'?"

She didn't answer and just continued walking. I didn't say anything either and we just walked in silence, me behind her, for a while before she spoke up.

"So…what do you think about Bird – I mean, Ana?"

Why was she asking me that? Why does she want to know? Wait…what _did_ I think about Ana?

"Um…she's a nice person, I guess," I scratched my head. This new head of hair was sort of growing on me, but it was like an extra weight on my head.

"No," she persisted. "Like, tell me what you really think about her. Do you like her; is she a good person; does she look pretty?" she asked the last quietly.

What? This was so weird, but she'd probably hurt me if I didn't answer her.

"She's a good friend and very loud. She is a pretty person–actually, everyone we've hung out with is very pretty."

"I didn't know you were like that, Twinkle Toes," she laughed. I took a moment to figure out why she was laughing and I finally got it.

I rushed to explain, "That's not it. I didn't mean it like that! I only meant the girls–not the guys! I don't think the guys are pretty! I mean, they're good looking but it's not like I like them like that!" All through my rash explanation her laugh got louder and I couldn't help but think that it sounded so carefree and wonderful. Every time I was around Toph there would be others around us and I could never talk to her like we used to when it was just the two of us. I was always careful about what I had to say to her, so then our secret wouldn't be spilled.

"I don't want to know anything about what you think about the guys we hang out with, Twinkle Toes." She laughed out loud. It was such a beautiful sound.

I sighed. "It's not like that, I told you!"

She laughed again and I figured out that no matter how much I told her it wasn't true she'd just laugh at me again. She was enjoying this.

I changed subjects. "Well, what do you think of Todd?" I asked accusingly.

I saw her freeze. "Todd? Why do you want to know what I think of _Todd_?" She couldn't quite keep her regular cool tone under control. It seemed like she was nervous for some reason. Did she like him?

For the past week I'd been noticing a change in Todd's behavior, but it only happened whenever he was around Toph. One day, I slyly asked him if he liked Toph, and he said yes. Then, that day in the park with Skeeter, he told us both that he thought Toph was hot. I don't know why but at the time, and now, it still made me a bit angry.

"Well," she started. "I guess he's…nice too," she sounded embarrassed and in the dark night I couldn't see the colors of her face. "But he's so stubborn!" she suddenly yelled. "And he's so sarcastic that it's so _annoying_!"

I started laughing hysterically at all the memories that assaulted me and I could tell Toph was getting annoyed but I couldn't stop. My ribs were hurting so badly but I just couldn't stop. I even fell to the ground as I laughed uncontrollably. And every punch that Toph threw at me only made me laugh harder and more violently.

"Why are you laughing?!" she yelled at me and threw another punch.

"This is just–like the–old days," I tried to get out while laughing hysterically. I could feel her mood lift up and she started to laugh too. After a good two minutes of laughing we finally calmed down.

"I've been missing this," I told her.

"Yeah. It's been a while since we've laughed like this. Just the two of us." I took a moment to ponder something. "I've missed being alone with you, no secrets, no nothing."

She laughed again and it sounded so carefree that all I did was stare at her, trying to get used to the dark. "Yeah, no secrets is a lot better don't you think? That way we don't have to worry whether or not someone is overhearing us."

"Maybe we should make this our secret meeting place."

"Yeah, if we ever want to talk, we can just come here. Deal?" She held out her fist and I punched it as sign to seal the deal.

"Deal," I agreed. A secret meeting place would be perfect, and the fact that only Toph and I are able to get down into the mountain without taking the stairs that I saw on the other side just makes it better. We can just earthbend ourselves down here without having anyone follow us. This was perfect.

"Okay," she said in a very business like tone of voice. "Now, let's get a move on to the Spirit World!"

I hesitated. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" I had to get her approval before I dragged her into this. I mean, going to the Spirit World is easy for me because I'm the bridge between this world and the next, but to bring Toph…would it hurt her? Would she be able to find her way back?

Wait, of course she would. She'd make it back. Iroh once went into the Spirit World and he made it back. Toph could do the same, I just knew it. All she needed was something to tie her back to this world. That's all.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now let's go!" she said in a determined tone.

I sighed. "Fine. But we have to find a spot where no one can find us. Who knows how long we'll be in there, or if we'll even get in," I said bitterly. This whole "the Spirit World not letting me in" thing was really getting me mad but it was also scaring me. I mean, I'm the bridge between the two worlds, so the fact that one world wasn't letting me in, was sort of…unnerving.

"Follow me," Toph said once again and I followed her as best I could in the dark night.

* * *

Even though we were in the desert, it was so cold during the night. Thank the Spirits for making me a firebender; I could regulate the temperature inside my body, making me warmer. But what about Toph?

"Toph?"

"Yeah, Twinkle Toes?" She stomped her foot down and a pillar of earth sent her over a small mountain of rock.

I followed suit. "Are you cold?"

"A little bit, but then again, I am in short shorts and a thin long-sleeved shirt, compliments of Ana. I probably should have changed before I came but whatever. Can't you just firebend or something?"

I shook my head. "Not now in the dark. If a sudden burst of flame just showed up in the dark don't you think it'd look suspicious? Plus, any sort of light could be spotted out here for probably miles away and we can't have anyone knowing where we are."

"Then make a cave. No one can see anything if it's in a cave."

"Okay, but _you're_ not going to do anything. Let _me_ make the cave, okay?" I insisted. I didn't want her hurting again.

Getting into my horse stance I hurried to make an underground cave so Toph could be warm.

* * *

"So, how do we do this thing?" Toph asked as she lowered herself down into the shallow cave.

"First, get in a meditative position." She groaned at that.

"That sissy position? What's wrong with lying back against the wall?"

"Just do it, Toph. It won't kill you."

"Says you. When I wind up dead, I'll totally come back to haunt you."

"It's just a sitting position. Don't be so dramatic."

She laughed. "Says the King–or should I say _Queen_–of Drama."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing." She paused thinking something over. How was I the Queen–I mean, King–of Drama? "So…what do you think of Heidi? She seems like a nice person. Don't you think?"

I looked at Toph in the dim glow of the light in my hand. "Yeah, she's a really nice person. So strong willed. And really pretty. Her hair looks almost like…" I felt that similar pain in my chest and I tried to ignore it. "She's…a fierce individual, I know that much."

"Yeah, she is. She sort of reminds me of Sparky. She really likes to fight but at the same time she can be just like Katara…except for the fact that Heidi actually knows how to tell a joke." She laughed and I remembered that time when Sokka was learning the ways of the sword and Toph, Katara and I were trying to find a way to pass the time.

"Yeah, she wasn't one for comedy."

"Yep…okay, so I'm in the sissy position, now what?"

I extinguished the flame. "Hold my hands and think of something that will bring you back to this world, because I doubt that we'll be going back to ours," I said ruefully.

"Like what?" she asked.

"Well, what ties you to this world more than anything?"

"The earth, duh. Act like you know, Twinkles," she scoffed.

_Should have known_. "Okay then, think about how much you love the earth. Think of nothing but how much the earth has done for you."

"I can do that."

"Oh." I had just remembered something. "Toph, I have to tell you. When you're in the Spirit World, you can't bend. There's no bend-"

"What!?" she shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me this before!? How am I supposed to see there then? Huh?" she was huffing with this sudden realization.

"Toph, I'll be right there with you. I won't leave you. I promise."

She didn't say anything but I could tell that she was trying to come to terms with my words. I gave her a minute to meditate on her thoughts.

"Okay," she nodded solemnly. "I'm ready."

* * *

"I can't do this," Toph said exasperated.

I groaned in frustration. After ten minutes we still couldn't get into the Spirit World because Toph couldn't focus. She was too tired.

"Toph, please. We have to do this now. I can't wait; I _have_ to know." I searched around my head for ideas and I got one. I separated my hands from Toph's and picked up a heavy rock that was near my foot and handed it to her. "Hold this on your knees and focus on the weight of the rock. _Nothing_ but the weight. Focus on all the metals and particles that exist within the rock. Think of all the atoms that are within the rocks, focus on every single bit of that rock. Inch, centimeter. _Everything_."

With the little light coming from the fire I had created I could see Toph focusing every single inch of her body, mind and soul, on that rock.

_It's time. _

* * *

This trip to the Spirit World was different than all the others I've taken. It was almost like my first trip. Something was pulling us both in and of course, I didn't object. My only fear was wondering what would happen to Toph when we were in.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated sooner. I've been **_**so**_** freaking busy, you have no idea. But I finally finished. Don't worry I'll try to hurry up and come up with the second part of this, but no guarantees that it'll be soon. I'm going to try and work on updating my other story, so look out for that chapter. **

**R&R please. After being deprived of Fanfiction for like, 2 weeks, I miss the reviewings. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	13. The Spirit Wold Part 2

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. No der. but i do own the random song that Toph sings.

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's POV**

I felt an incredible force pull me out of my body, but at the same time I felt grounded.

The feeling stopped in the span of a few seconds but I still hadn't opened my eyes. I was too scared. As soon as the feeling stopped, I couldn't _see_ anymore. I froze in place trying to figure out why I couldn't see and then I remembered what Twinkle Toes had said to me.

_You won't be able to bend in the Spirit World. _

I could put two and two together. I used my earthbending to see, but if I couldn't earthbend then I couldn't see. Maybe, now I truly was blind.

"Toph?" the voice made me yelp in surprise.

"Don't scare me like that, Twinkle Toes." I held up my fist to punch him but…I didn't know where he was because I still had my eyes closed.

"Sorry, Toph. How are you feeling?"

"I can't feel. Anything."

"What?" He asked, bewildered.

"I can't feel a thing. I actually have no idea where you are right now. I can only guess that you're somewhere in front of me. Am I right?"

"No. I'm actually right next to you."

I hurried to defend myself, "Everything echoes in here! How am _I_ supposed to know where you are?"

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to offend–"

"Forget it."

I tried tapping on the ground with my hand but I couldn't sense any vibrations and it was freaking me out. I decided that it didn't really matter if I opened my eyes or not so I opened them and the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Well…this is different."

I remember when that time in the swamp (was it really only a week ago?) and I had been contemplating whether or not I was really seeing something but what I was seeing was something that I had never seen before. Then, something in my head just clicked and I got scared.

I held out my hand to try and touch what I hoped was seeing or what I thought I was seeing and I flinched back.

Something touched my shoulder and I screamed as I turned around. I closed my eyes again. This was just too much for me. A hand touched my shoulder again but its weight was familiar so I didn't move or flinch this time; I just kept my eyes shut tight.

"Toph, what's wrong? Are you hurt? Please, talk to me."

"Aang…if I'm not able to earthbend. And I use my earthbending to see…what happens?"

"You…can't _see_? Or you can?"

"I'm not sure. But…" I smiled. "I think I can." I opened my eyes and was faced with something in front of my face, but something about it was familiar.

"Toph," the object spoke and I gasped.

I reached out to touch the face of my best friend.

"Aang…I see you."

"You can see me? You can see me!" he suddenly jumped up. "That is _so awesome_! Wait…" he said calmly. "Are _you_ okay with this?" he sat down in front of me.

"I can finally see, but…"

"But what, Toph?"

I turned away from him and was getting a headache trying to figure out just exactly what I was seeing.

"It's scary."

"Being able to see for the first time would be scary," he reasoned with such confident logic that I wanted to shake him.

"Well, that is scary but that's not what I'm talking about."

I curled up against something that felt like wood and hugged my knees, not knowing what I was looking at.

"It's just that…" I tried to come up with words to explain how I was feeling. "Every day I wake up thinking 'what am I looking at. Is it the darkness that people always talk about when they close _their_ eyes, or what'? But it turns out…that it doesn't even seem like my eyes are there back where we came from. It's…how do I explain this?" I took a moment to ponder. "Well, you know the feeling you get when you stick your hand in an empty cup? There's nothing but air, right? Well…I've never been able to figure it out before now. My eyes back in Arizona and the Fire Nation, aren't even there. They feel as light as air. I know they're there but I just can't feel them and it's scary. Not even being able to feel your own eyes. Now…they seem sort of heavy. Aang…what color is that?" I pointed to a rectangular object.

"That's dark brown and it's a broken tree trunk."

"What's black?"

He reached behind me and pulled a thick strand of my hair in front of my eyes. "This is as black as black can get, Toph."

"So I have _black_ hair. What color are my arms?"

"Ivory."

"What color is Heidi? She's always talking about how she's a Mexican and has a tan but what is that?"

"Heidi…is sort of like…" he looked around to try and find something to compare Heidi with. "She's sort of like…this." He held something that reminded me of the dark brown tree but was very loose. When he dropped it in my hand I gasped at the wonderful feeling of earth. "This earth is a lighter version of the color of dark brown of that tree. It's more or less a tannish color near Heidi's. Ana is just a shade darker than you and Todd is as white as you."

I looked at my arms and was admiring how they looked to me. Suddenly, I grabbed Twinkle Toes's hand and looked at the difference between our arms. Then I started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Twinkle's asked.

"Ha-ha-ha! I'm so much stronger than you! Look at the muscle on my arm, dude! This is pretty freaking sweet. I mean, I always knew I was stronger than you but, man, I didn't know it was this noticeable!" I laughed harder at the way his face looked to me.

"Hey!" he said in defense. "I haven't been practicing because we can't use our bending back in Arizona, so excuse me for the puny-ness of my arms. We can't all be as super macho as you." I could tell that he was pouting by the fullness of his lips.

"Yeah," I said with a smile. "I am a pretty macho person." I leaned back against the tree trunk behind me with my hands over my head and stretched. Suddenly I felt myself being pinned to the ground. "Twinkle Toes, get off!" I struggled against him but he was practically sitting on me. "You're so fat that I can't move. Get off me you fatty!" I spat at him and he only laughed.

"Who's the mighty macho man now?" he said triumphantly and I relaxed my muscles, signaling defeat.

In a dead-pan voice I said, "Oh yes, you're the macho-ist among the two of us girls." He uttered a disgruntled sound and started protesting against my words, and with a grunt of effort I managed to catch him off guard and flip myself over him so that my back was flat against his stomach, I then quickly flipped over and trapped his wrists above his head while straddling his stomach. "But only in your dreams," I smirked as I shoved his face in the dirt while laughing maniacally.

* * *

"Hello?"

_Hello…_

_Hello…_

_Hello… _

_Hello…_

_Hello._

The echoes of Twinkle Toes's words reverberated through the empty space and it was a deafening sound that hurt my ears.

"Why is no one answering?" I asked him.

He ran a hand over his head, probably expecting to find hair but only to find baldness.

"Hey Twinkle Toes, what color is that?"

My brain was hurting because of all the new things I was learning from Twinkle Toes.

"So…this color is blue?" I held up a flower between my two pointer finger and middle finger and showed it to Twinkle Toes.

He took the flower from me. "No. It's purple but it looks similar to blue."

I groaned in frustration. "This is too confusing. Why can't they just have simple colors? No dark blue, blue-purple, red-orange. Just simple. Is that so much to ask for?"

Twinkles chuckled but stopped when I shot him a death glare.

"I'm gonna go meditate for a while to try and figure out a way to get someone to talk to us, okay, Toph? Stay close to me," he warned.

"Yeah, yeah. Go meditate to your hearts content."

I looked down at both of my arms and saw that the left hand wasn't covered in any sort of plaster. I stretched my fingers out in front of me, examining them. Turning them over, I stared at my palm, etching every single little line into my head. I then sat down on the ground looking at my feet from all over.

* * *

Twinkle Toes was currently meditating so I wouldn't be bothered in my inspection of my newly seen arms and limbs. Even when I was blind I'd stroke my arms, trying to get a feel of what it was but since I've never seen it before I could only feel the outline without getting any details. Now, I was able to see everything and it was so overwhelming and scary but exhilarating at the same time. I had a feeling that all these emotions would soon tire me out but I didn't really care about that at the moment. I was going to get as much out of this as was possible.

After I was done with the inspection of my arms and legs I started lightly touching my neck. I wondered….

Looking around I saw something glistening just about ten feet away and I walked up to it. I gasped.

I'm finally able to see my face. My eyes. My lips. Everything. I didn't know what passed as pretty anywhere but something about my face looked attractive and I liked it. I examined my face from every angle possible. When I used all of the possibilities I just started over again, eager to remember every inch of my face.

My eyes were captivating and I found myself looking long and hard at them. I have to say, out of all my features my eyes were my favorite. Muscles were a close second.

Out of the blue I heard some whispering. Just like the swamp.

I ran to Twinkle Toes and shook him out of his meditative state.

"Hey–meditating here! What's so–"

"Do you hear that Twinkle Toes? There's the whispering again…" Twinkle Toes grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him.

"Stay close to me Toph. We don't know what'll happen now."

I don't know why my face felt hot or why my throat suddenly closed off when Twinkle Toes brought me closer but I didn't like it. I pushed his hand off my wrist but stayed close to him just incase something did happen.

_Psst._

"Did you say something Twinkle Toes?"

_Psst_.

"No. I thought that was you." He looked around to see if there was anything that could possibly be making that sound.

"Psst. You two are deaf. Over here!" Whispered a voice that instantly just chilled me but I followed it anyways, only to be stopped by Twinkle Toes.

"What's wrong?"

"You are staying _here_. _I'll_ go see what he wants."

"What _who_ wants?"

"Koh."

The name sent shivers down my spine for no reason that I could imagine. I guess it just sounded creepy.

"What's so dangerous about this Koh guy that you won't let me go with you?"

"They call him the Face Stealer."

"Ew."

"Toph, don't laugh," he said in a disproving tone.

"I'm not laughing. It was just a comment. Doesn't he have his own face?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think so."

"Is that why he has to…'steal' faces?"

"Yes. If you show any type of emotion then he'll steal your face. I've dealt with him once before and I'll deal with him again."

"I'll go with you–"

"No!"

His sudden outburst scared me and I jumped.

"Toph, you aren't coming with me. It's too dangerous. I mean, even when I shove my hand in your face you become surprised, and that surprised face will be your downfall. And I can't have that happening to you."

I could see his where he was coming from but he struck me as sort of a masochist for wanting to put all of this on his shoulders without having me share some of the hardship.

"I'm the master of the stoic face, Twinkle Toes."

He shook his head. "I said no and I mean no," in that final tone I grudgingly accepted defeat.

"Fine, but if you let something happen to you I'll hurt you."

He put a hand on his chest, "You care that much?"

I scoffed, "As _if_ that was it. You're the only one who can get me out of here."

I saw his face drop and I laughed at him.

"Now go," I pushed him in the direction of the dark hole inside the…dark brown tree. Yeah, I could remember that color. "And remember–" I put my hand in front of my face–"the face…remains blank," I said in a low, raspy voice. The one Heidi normally used to emphasize a phrase or word.

"Got it, Sifu Toph." He put on a blank face so quickly that it made me laugh, but I soon stopped when he gave me a stern look.

"Sorry."

He gave me a small smile and composed his blank face before he turned around.

* * *

Twenty minutes…twenty flippin' minutes I've been waiting for him to hurry up and finish talking to the Koh guy. Gosh, you'd think that they'd be reminiscing on old times with the way the time was dragging on.

Even though I could see now, I wasn't very familiar with it and I sought after the comfort of my own precious earth. So I promised myself that if Fancy Feet wasn't back within five minutes I'd go after him, despite what he said.

Three minutes later I was so bored that I started singing random lyrics quietly to myself.

"And who am I/ living in a world of nothing/though nothing's gonna hold me back/the colors of the flowers are so beautiful/ Finally able to catch a glimpse of the things I've never known/and it feels like I'm about to explode/I hear your voice calling me/ but I can't stop/ so lets get ready, get set, and go." Hmm…that's actually a pretty good song now that I think about it.

Behind me–about a couple of feet behind me–I heard a low creepy voice that made my skin crawl say, "What a beautiful voice. I bet it goes with a beautiful face. Show me your face my dear." He sounded far off and for that I was glad. Because once things start breathing down my neck I'm gonna have to hurt somebody.

"If I show you my face, I'd have to kill you," I said in a cheerful voice.

"I'm not sure I like that attitude."

"And I'm not sure I like that pedophile voice you have but you don't see me complaining," I said in strict defiance.

"Don't you want to know how to get back to your world?"

"I'm actually pretty intelligent despite my obvious charm and good looks."

"Really?"

"Yep. Hey Twinkle Toes! Let's get going," I yelled out into the open space.

I heard Twinkle Toes behind me also but he was speaking in a detached voice. "Koh. What do you mean by 'a bet'?"

I heard many feet skittering away. "Well, I'll let the all mighty and powerful Toph Bei Fong answer that since she _is_ the most _intelligent_. I hope I'll get to see you soon, and maybe I'd get to see your face next time. Until then…"

I couldn't hear anything besides the one pair of footsteps of Twinkle Toes coming near me so I felt safe to turn around but I was being cautious and I had a blank face on.

Twinkle Toes suddenly grabbed my hand and practically dragged me away from the broken tree stump where that Koh thing made its home.

* * *

"Let go, Twinkle Toes. You're pulling my wrist out of its socket!"

He panted, "Just a little–farther."

After a couple of minutes he finally stopped running and I fell to my knees on the soft green grass, panting and huffing my head off.

"A little…warning would…have been nice."

He coughed. "Sorry about that…we had to get…away as soon as…possible." He took a deep breath and fell to the ground beside me to rest.

"Because if we didn't he'd steal our faces if we gave him the chance?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Well…" I punched his rib. "What did he tell you?"

Twinkle's sighed. "Something about time and a father and…love, of all things."

"Love? Fathers? Is this guy on crack or something? Why can't we ever get some straight answers?"

"I'm pretty sure spirits can't get high, Toph. But you're right: they are confusing."

"No duh I'm right. But hey…what did you mean by a bet?"

He closed his eyes. "I honestly don't know Toph," he said in a tired voice.

I yawned. "You know that we've probably been here for hours."

"You wanna head back?"

I laid my back against the ground. "I want to be able to go to sleep in my own bed. Or the ground. Either one will do right about now!"

"Alright," I heard him stir beside me. "Lets all get into the sissy position so I can get you out."

I giggled at the way the words sounded coming out of his mouth.

"Alright. Sissy position: check. What's next?"

He grabbed both of my hands in his and I tried to stop the heat from reaching my face. "Just think about getting back and I'll do the rest."

"Sweet. I've wanted to go back to my sweet, sweet earth."

He dropped my hands. "Aren't you going to miss all of this? Seeing, I mean."

I put my hands under my chin and looked at him with a stern look on my face. "No." then I forcefully grabbed his hands in mine, closed my eyes and focused on nothing but the wonderful feeling of earth in my memory.

* * *

"Make sure Toto doesn't see you," I warned Twinkle Toes as we parted separate ways. "If he does he'll ask questions and–sorry to break it to you like this–but you're not a very good liar Twinkle Toes."

I heard him laugh. "Alright. Well the sun is up but it's just barely over the horizon, so we shouldn't really be spotted. But…Toph?"

I sensed some uneasiness in his voice. "Yes?"

"Take this," he put in my hand something soft.

"What am I taking exactly?"

"My jacket. You should really think about wearing something else to sleep."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"It's too short."

I scoffed. "So? Birdie's house is like right behind me so what does it matter?"

"It matters."

"No it doesn't." I handed him the jacket.

"Yes it does." He pushed the jacket back at me.

"Well why don't you do something about your hair?" I threw the jacket at him and backed away.

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"You were bald in the Spirit World."

"So?"

"I think you need some Rogaine foam or something."

"What's that?"

"Never mind."

"Toph."

"Avatar."

He groaned in frustration.

"Hey," he said as if he just discovered something. "Did you get a haircut?"

My hand immediately went to my hair and I tried to straighten it out.

"Yeah, Heidi did it. I lost a bet."

"I like it. It's still as long as ever but with a different style. It suits you."

I turned away from him so he wouldn't see the blush creeping on my face and I walked away without another word.

* * *

_I hope they're not awake_, was my first thought when I tried to open the window.

I opened it and when I stepped inside the first words I heard were, "The pickles will get you because they know the truth…. They also have the most awesome-nest color ever: green." Heidi sounded groggy but I wasn't sure that I could trust her just by her voice because her voice tended to fluctuate into different accents every minute of the day, even if she didn't mean to.

"Heidi?" I whispered.

Heidi suddenly sounded lucid and whispered harshly, "Get your butt in here Toph. You got some 'splaining to do!"

Crap.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Wow, it's been a long time. Sorry about that ya'll. **

**Anwho, hope you enjoy this chapter until I finish the next. **

**R&R!**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**


	14. Props to Old Ladies!

**

* * *

**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. No der.

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's POV**

"So you were just…out, right?" Heidi asked incredulously for the millionth time.

I groaned, "Yes. I already told you this. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk."

Birdie woke up right after Heidi had begun my ten minutes of interrogation.

"But, Toph, a walk at _three_ in the morning?" Birdie asked. "Couldn't you have gone out in a more civilized way? There's a door right there."

I groaned again. "I'm not a very civilized person," I reasoned.

Someone was sniffing me and I pulled back.

"You smell like you've been rolling around in dust," Heidi stated.

I sounded offended, "We can't all be as clean as you."

"But still Toph–"

I cut Birdie off. "Truth or dare!"

Birdie hesitated to answer.

"Truth or dare," I repeated more harsh than what was necessary.

"Dare?"

I smiled. "I dare you to…punch Andy in the face next time you see him."

Birdie didn't say anything but I could feel Heidi's approval.

"Heck yeah! And don't think we're letting you back out of it so easily. If it helps, we can get Riley, Todd and Aang with us. Maybe Skeeter, but he's not so intimidating. He's just funny."

In a quiet voice she said, "Fine." Louder, she said, "Truth or dare, Heidi?"

"Let's go with truth."

"Is it true that you were the one who finished the last batch of chocolate chip cookies that I made last week?"

"Pssh…no." A moment of silence before Heidi fessed up. "Okay, yes! It was me–spare me!"

Birdie sighed at Heidi's dramatics.

It was Heidi's turn. "Truth or dare, Toph?"

I thought about that. "Dare."

"I dare you to drink Tabasco Smoked Chipotle Pepper Sauce!"

I scoffed. "That's way too easy."

Heidi went into the kitchen to get the hot sauce. When she gave it to me I saw that it had a top on it and I handed it back to Heidi for her to open it.

Honestly, my cast was getting on my nerves.

I drank it easily and Heidi gasped in shock.

"Ahh," I sighed. "Refreshing." I handed the bottle back to her.

"How…in the world did you do that!?"

I shrugged as a burp escaped me. "Well, first you drink it, then you swallow it. You follow me?"

"Dude! That was like the hottest thing ever!"

I shrugged, not getting what was so big about it. "Maybe you're just a wimp," I concluded.

"Man, I can't handle anything spicy! I cried when I had to have a sip of the fire sauce in Taco Bell. Riley always makes fun of that little tiny fact since he loves spicy stuff." I felt her bow down. "You are a God!"

Then I got an idea and a devilish smile appeared on my face.

"Hey Heidi truth or dare?"

"What happens if I say dare?" she asked uneasily.

"Are you picking dare?"

She hesitated. "Um…maybe, sort of, in a twisted reality…yes."

I laughed evilly to just get her scared.

"I dare you to drink from the same kind of hot sauce I drank whenever somebody says your name for three days." A week would be way too cruel even though I was seriously considering it.

Heidi took this dare to heart and screamed. "NO!! NO-O-O-O! Anything but that! Toph, please!" She shook my shoulders but I refused to budge, enjoying her torture too much.

"That's what you get for making me drink toilet water."

I heard Birdie gasp. "Heidi," she said in a reprimanding tone. "You made Toph drink from _my_ toilet water?"

Heidi ignored her and kept pleading for me to reconsider.

"And I wasn't there to witness it!" Birdie screamed in frustration.

I shook my head at my new friends. They were so weird.

* * *

By nine, Birdie's mom finally woke up but only to order us to quiet down so she could get another hour of sleep. Surprisingly, Ana answered her mom in a very hostile way.

"Well, maybe if you weren't out drinking at _midnight_ then you wouldn't be hung over and we wouldn't be _having_ this discussion right now."

Her mom was too tired to even answer with a witty response. "Just keep the noise down until I leave for work. After that you can shout on the rooftops for all I care." Then she went upstairs without a single word more.

I waited until I couldn't feel anymore footsteps coming from upstairs until I said anything.

"I don't have the best relationship with my parents but," I addressed Birdie who was currently flipping through the channels on the television furiously, "that was harsh."

The channel flipping slowed down a bit. "I know," she said, her tone solemn.

I pushed for more information, "Do you not like her?"

I heard a thud and chalked it up to the remote being thrown on the ground because the channels stopped that little static noise. "No, I really, really don't like her."

"Ana," Heidi said sympathetically.

I didn't know what to say so I said nothing, but I was feeling bad for her on the inside.

Quietly, Ana spoke again, "I _love_ her…but sometimes I really, really don't _like_ her."

I turned in her general direction next to me. "I know what that feels like. You love your parents but sometimes you just can't stand what they do. I understand that, so it's not like it's a bad thing. I feel like that…whenever I'm with them. Don't worry about it. 'These things will solve themselves in time'," I quoted my favorite Tea man who had said almost those exact words to me when I told him about my troubles with the parentals.

"Yeah," Heidi added. "Time heals all wounds, no?"

"Thanks," Ana said. She tacked on as an afterthought, "Heidi."

I could just feel Heidi's glare towards me.

"I hate you Toph." I heard her open the bottle and take a sip of that hot and spicy chipotle hot sauce.

* * *

I was currently lying down on my back seat of Birdie's car, resting my eyes while Birdie and Heidi were buying groceries for Ana's mom. I chose to stay behind in the car because I still had not gotten any sleep and I was really tired.

The temperature in the car was too hot despite the fact that the AC was cranked on high but I ignored it because I was just too tired to do anything about it.

Before I went to sleep, I was thinking about my trip into the Spirit World with Twinkle Toes.

It had been something beyond my wildest imagination. The colors were beautiful and I finally, _finally,_ was able to see my face for the first time in 16 years. Who wouldn't be amazed by that?

Even though I absolutely loved it and have no regrets or sorrows about not being able to see again…I didn't really care for it. Sight, I mean.

It was awesome to see and I wouldn't mind doing it again but sight, for me, was like growing another head. Completely useless since you already have a functional head on your neck, why add more?

I was a lot more comfortable on soft, hard, firm, loose dirt and land. That was where I belonged, and that's where I intend to stay.

**Aang's POV**

I can't believe I finally got into the Spirit World. And with Toph!

My thesis had been correct but there were still two things that were bothering me.

The first was the fact that the Spirit World would only let me in if I had Toph with me. But even then it was empty…except for Koh. That was the other thing that bothered me. That stupid cockroach. What's more is that I didn't understand any of his explanations.

"The bet is high and you and Toph are the prize": what in the world did he mean? I kept asking him for answers but all I got were riddles or questions that I couldn't understand.

"Do you know who Father Time is, Avatar?" Koh had asked me. When I told him that I didn't know he just laughed in my face. I fought to keep any emotion off my face.

"Aang? Hello? Anybody there?" I saw Todd's hand wave in front of my face.

We were in his car on our way to pick up groceries for Mrs. Radcliff, Todd's mother. Mrs. Radcliff was a really nice person, a little paranoid, but nice.

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Really?" Todd questioned. "It doesn't seem like you are."

"I don't know. Everything's so confusing."

He snorted. "What's so confusing about driving to the grocery store?"

"Not that." I sighed. "You ever get the feeling that there's something out there…bigger than yourself."

"You mean like a bear?"

I laughed slightly at that comment.

"I mean…like time."

"Time?" he asked, not understanding where this conversation was going.

I nodded. "Time. It really does control every aspect of our lives, doesn't it?"

He didn't say anything and I continued, "It controls what time we get up, what time we go to sleep, when it's time to eat or work…it's everything. Yet, we take it for granted. We procrastinate and make bad decisions with the aspect of time." I paused before asking, "Do you believe people can travel through time?"

Even though I was the one who wanted to know, I was a bit scared at what his answer might be.

"I don't really have an answer for that. Seriosly, dawg, what's up with all these psychological, philosophical questions? That's too much work for my brain. It's the weekend until tomorrow." He reached over and punched my shoulder. "Loosen up."

I rolled the shoulder that he punched.

Of course he wouldn't understand. He wasn't one for deciphering complex questions like this. That's why his next words surprised me.

"But…if people were to travel back and forth in time it'd be through the equations of General Relativity and it would require humans to travel faster than the speed of light, which is really impossible. The second option would be a wormhole or some sort of 'tunnel' between two present space time points. Though, it wouldn't stay open long enough for a human to go through unless they had some sort of help keeping it open, like a machine, or something."

I didn't realize that I was gaping at him until he broke me out of my trance with a punch to my arm–the same one he had hit before. I rubbed the bruised arm.

"Yes, Mongo know words," he said as he flipped his black hair out of his eyes. "Geez, give me a little credit, Aang. I'm not stupid; I just don't like doing work. So no more questions like that. Cheer up, you look like you've been squashed or something bro."

I gave him a half smile and listened to the music coming out of the radio.

* * *

At the market I was getting some cheese when behind me I heard, "Cheese…a wise choice, young grasshopper."

I felt that painful clench for a just a second but it seemed as though the echo of the strain was still there.

"Hey, Hei–" I was silenced by her hand over my mouth.

"Please, Aang, don't say my name! I beg you for three days do not say my name!"

"Hey, you're not allowed to do that," I heard Ana say and when I looked beside me she was there with a shopping cart.

Heidi hurried to defend herself. "There were no rules in this game and I will play it however I want! So–" she stuck her tongue out at Ana and Ana laughed.

I tried to speak to tell her that her hand was still over my mouth but she didn't hear it.

"Ana! Get some chocolate! I mean, it's February today, right?"

"Yes, Heidi, today is February. I'm glad you know your months."

Heidi took her hand off of my mouth and tried to put her hands around Ana's throat while laughing.

"I hate you so much!" she laughed as Ana smacked her hands away and I thought she was going crazy for a second there so I took a step back.

Todd was behind me, "You two are scaring, Aang. That's not very nice for psycho girls to do."

"Your face is psychotic but you don't see me pointing it out for the world to hear." Heidi took out a bottle and took a sip from it. I saw her eyes well up with tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked in concern.

She waved off my concerns and showed me the bottle in her hand. She coughed and wiped away the tears caused by Tabasco Smoked Chipotle Pepper Sauce. I looked at her and her face was slightly red and she put a hand on her mouth.

"Ana," Todd said. "Care to explain why Hei–" he was cut off by Heidi's hand.

In a scratchy voice she said, "Don't say my name!"

He pulled her hand off of his mouth.

"Why?"

She coughed again. "Because if you do I have to drink this." She held up the bottle again.

Todd slapped his forehead. "Please, tell me that you two weren't playing truth or dare again?"

I looked at them. "Truth or dare? What's that?" I think I've played it before with Sokka but I couldn't be sure that it was the same game in this world.

Heidi, Ana, and Todd gaped at me.

"You seriously don't know?" Ana asked.

I shrugged nervously. Was I supposed to know this?

"Aang, come with me," Ana ordered and I followed.

* * *

"Can you get that?" Ana pointed to a bag of chips on the top shelf.

"Sure." I dropped in her cart. "What's that for? You don't usually eat a lot of junk food."

In her cart were bags of chips, boxes of shrimp, chocolates, and…margarita mix?

She sighed. "My mom texted me that she's going to have an office party, to celebrate or whatever. One night of partying just isn't enough."

"Are you invited?"

She looked at me with sad eyes. "Someone has to drive her home."

She pushed the cart towards the next aisle.

I didn't like seeing anybody with a sad face–especially on Ana because it just didn't seem to go with her personality–so I jumped in front of her and made the silliest face I could manage. She looked shocked at first and slowly her face dissolved into a smile and then a giggle. I laughed along with her.

"You looked like a monkey," she said, regaining her breath. Putting my silly face aside she walked past me to probably grab some more groceries but she didn't notice the CAUTION: WET sign and slipped.

I caught her by her shoulders before she fell to the ground.

She gasped and hurried to apologize, "I'm sorry I–"

I roared with laughter, interrupting her unneeded apology.

"Aang?" She giggled my name.

A tone of voice I could have gone an eternity without knowing had Ana freeze and me looking up with annoyance etched in every feature.

"Well, well, I think I'm a little jealous _Annie_. Is he you're new boyfriend? I'm not too sure I like that."

He eyed Ana in my arms and smirked at her. Ana involuntarily whimpered and struggled to get out of my arms. I helped her up and whether it was unconscious or not she drifted behind me.

In a quiet but determined voice she said, "It's not your place to decide whether or not you like something I do. But, no, he's not my boyfriend." That sounded almost rueful but I forgot about that when Andy opened his stupid mouth.

"It's not nice to scare me like that, _Annie_. I'll have to think of a way to get you back." He smiled at her and I instinctively made myself seem bigger by sticking out my chest.

"My name. Is not. Annie," I heard Ana say quietly through her teeth. He only smiled an evil grin.

"What do you want, Andy?" I asked, distracting him from staring at Ana so much.

His eyes flashed to mine in anger. "I don't think I was talking you, _Aang. _It's very rude to butt into other people's conversations. Didn't you're mother ever teach you manners?" he spat in my face.

I could see that he expected me to be bothered but I wasn't.

"I never had a mother so to answer your question, no. My mother never taught me manners." I smiled innocently at him.

He scowled at me and I felt Ana's nails digging into my kidney and arm.

"Hey, Ana? Is this kind of chocolate okay?" Heidi turned the corner examining a bag of milk chocolate with eyes filled with want that soon turned to hate when she spotted Andy in front of us. She whispered something to Todd and both joined us, standing on either side of Ana and me. Behind me I heard Heidi whisper, "Ana, truth or dare?"

"Oh, _Heidi_, I didn't see you there. It's almost like you shrink with every passing day."

Heidi glared at him.

"Aren't you going to drink from that bottle of hot sauce? I did say your name…."

Heidi smirked. "If you said it, it doesn't count."

"Heidi…" Ana said as a warning.

"Ana…" Heidi mimicked.

Ana whimpered and, hesitating, she got in front of me with her shoulders hunched. She straightened them out and walked towards Andy.

He smiled at her and I wanted to puke.

"Did you want something _Annie_?"

Her punch was so fast that I almost missed it but it hit Andy square in the eye. Ana ran behind me. Todd, Heidi, and I formed a shield between Andy and Ana.

"What the hell, you stupid–"

"Watch you're language young man," an elderly lady with her face scrunched up scolded him. "There are kids here."

She swatted him on the head and dragged him away by his ears.

"Hey, let go of me you demented old lady!"

When he was gone Heidi was the first to let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank God for old ladies!" After a pause she said in surprise, "Ana! Ana, are you okay?"

Todd and I turned around and saw Ana slumped on the floor, her cheek touching the cold metal of the shopping cart.

Her voice was shaking. "I…I…oh my God! I can't believe I actually did that!" She glared at Heidi and punched her in the stomach. "Why'd you make me do that? Now he's going to come after me and he'll hurt me again!" I could see her eyes getting watery.

I interrupted what Heidi was about to say, "Hurt you again? What do you mean by that?"

"N-nothing, Aang. Don't worry about it," Heidi hurried to assure me. She turned back to Ana. "Ana, please. I'm sorry. But…didn't that feel good?"

Ana didn't answer but instead wiped her tears and continued shopping. I guess that was in her personality: putting away one concern and piling her shoulders with another.

When Ana was out of hearing range Heidi said, "Yeah…she's my ride home…" She leaned on her hip and scratched her head. She looked insanely cute but right now I was concerned for Ana. "Should I…follow her?" she asked me.

"No," Todd said. "She needs to cool off right now. She should be done with the groceries in about thirty more minutes. So just wait until then."

"But…" I said. "What about Andy?"

Todd put a finger to his chin. After a moment of thinking he came to a conclusion. "I'll keep an eye on her. You two just go to the toys section." He stared pointedly at Heidi. "That should entertain you for a while, right?"

"Ha…ha."

* * *

Heidi and I hung out in the toy section where Heidi was currently swinging around a Jedi sword, putting on a show for three little four year old boys.

I was playing the role of Darth Vader and Heidi was Luke Skywalker.

"This is the end of you, Darth Vader Aang." Heidi held up her plastic sword.

I drawled out, "No-o-o-o-o."

I caught Heidi's sword under my arm and dropped to my knees, ultimately falling to the cold ground.

The little kids jumped on me and tickled me.

"Warren?"

"Truman?"

"Edward?"

I heard the voice of three middle aged women and the kids stopped moving.

"Gotta go," said a red head.

"Our mommies are calling us," said a bronze haired one.

"Bye Big Ears!" waved a brunette with curls.

They ran off and left Heidi laughing and me gaping.

"Big ears," she laughed. "They got you pinned!"

"You know," Ana's voice appeared from behind. "It's not nice to laugh at people, Mexican."

"Oh, God Ana, you scared me!"

"Stabbing people with swords is illegal, you beaner."

"Your so nice," Heidi said like she sincerely meant it.

Heidi ran up to Ana, arms extended waiting for a hug but Ana held up her hands.

"Did I say I forgave you?"

Heidi hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry. But you did substitute my name for something–on the tad offensive side–that represented me, nonetheless. So I wouldn't have to drink from the hot sauce…or am I wrong?"

Heidi's smile dared Ana to contradict her.

"You know me too well." Ana extended her arms out for Heidi to hug her. They embraced and even though Ana was whispering I could still hear the words she said to Heidi, "But it's going to take a while for me to forgive you, you know that right?"

"I'm really, really sorry. You know…I thought it'd give you closure. I'm sorry if it made you feel bad."

Ana pulled away. "Did I ever say that I didn't like it? This time was my turn to show him whose boss." Ana smiled down at Heidi. "I'm scared as heck at what's to come concerning him–no doubt about that–but…I guess I'm glad that you and Toph made me do it. So…thanks," she added grudgingly.

"What are friends for?"

I was just feeling the love radiating off of them and I couldn't help but to hug them both in a bone crushing bear hug.

Ana's voice was muffled against my chest, "W-w-what are y-you doing?"

"I. Cannot. Breathe," Heidi said dryly. "This. Is. A. Problem."

Todd came in and crushed Heidi and Ana together even more.

"I can't believe you guys almost left me out of this," he wined.

"Todd," Ana struggled to say. "Killing…me. Lungs…can't…take it."

Heidi strained the words, "I. Concur."

"I'm sorry," Todd and I said at the same time putting both of them down. They gasped for air.

I explained, "There was too much love in the air."

Ana's face was red and she was looking down at her shoes so I asked her what was wrong.

"N-nothing…really. Let's go. I have to pay for this stuff." Was it just me or did she sound embarrassed. Either way she turned tail and hurried off to the cashiers'.

When that was over and done with Todd and I followed them all the way to Ana's car before shopping ourselves.

"Ana, wake up Toph," Heidi ordered.

I perked up, "Is Toph here?"

I heard Ana scream, "She's gone!"

* * *

**A/N: **

**Sorry for taking so long. These past weeks have been cra-a-azy! **

**Hope you liked it! R&R!**

**(Insert maniacal laughter here) **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	15. Broken Noses, Milkshakes, & Leprechauns

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. No der. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Ana's POV**

Toph is gone? But how?

I grabbed Heidi by the shoulders to support myself from the shock. "No-no-no-no-no! How can this be? I locked the doors! I locked the doors didn't I?!"

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't breathe. A sharp pinch on my arm woke me up.

"Ow!" I yelped as I rubbed the sore spot.

Then I waited…but it wasn't coming. The horrible images that should've been running through my mind crippling me to the point of collapse just…weren't coming. Why was that?

"Ana!" Heidi's voice snapped me out of my pondering.

I turned to her, "We have to go look for her. She's my responsibility and she's not here!"

Heidi ran a hand through her hair, "I don't want to be a Debby Downer but…this is Phoenix…Arizona. It's a really big city and there are millions of places that she could be in right now–" she gasped as if she just realized something. "What if she's been kidnapped!"

I gasped and tears pooled in my eyes. I've only just gotten to know her. She couldn't have been kidnapped. She just couldn't have.

A hand lay on my shoulder in reassurance. Todd's voice sounded close.

"We'll find her. We just have to split up."

I looked up at him.

"But…we have no idea where to even start," I told him.

He wiped away my tears with his thumbs.

"You know I hate seeing girl's cry, especially if they're my best friend. So cheer up. We'll find her." He smiled at me.

"Yeah," Heidi chirped up. "Todd's right. Have hope and we can find her." She wiped away a tear that still lingered just under her eye.

Heidi pushed up her quarter-length sleeves, pulled up her pants, pulled down her shirt and stood with two hands on her hip. This was what was known as Battle Mode Heidi, the most dangerous mode Heidi had.

She clapped her hands together, a sign of a plan forming in her scattered brain head. "Alright! Now I want two teams up in here. Ana and Aang will take her car in search of Toph on the streets. Todd and I will search around the areas of the parking lot. 'Cause in the _streets_ I sure as heck ain't gonna go with another girl."

"Why not?" Aang asked.

Heidi sighed. "Gangs…people in general…" Aang still looked confused and Heidi was a bit too preoccupied at the moment with Toph to worry about whether or not Aang got what she said. "Okay, we've _got_ to get a move on people. Move move move!"

Heidi practically pushed Todd into the ground with such force as she tried to get him to hurry up and get back into his car.

I dumped all the groceries into the trunk without even worrying which should go in which order and hurried to get my car started back up again.

"Get in and buckle up Aang," I ordered as I looked behind me to make sure there weren't any cars coming my way and tore my way out of the parking lot and into the streets, looking wildly for Toph but keeping a watch out for cars and pedestrians.

* * *

For the fifth time in an hour and a half Heidi called me on my cell phone to report that there was still no sign of Toph, inside or outside of K-Mart.

"Keep looking, make sure you don't miss anything," I said again as I shut my Hello Kitty cell phone.

I was so stressed that I was shaking from head to toe and it was making it really hard to hold on to the brake while I searched the streets. Agitated, I ran a hand through my brunette locks but was surprised to feel another hand on top of mine. Aang was rubbing soothing circles on the back of my hand.

I couldn't look at him. I concentrated on the road in front of me while I tried to keep the blush from appearing on my face.

"It'll be okay," Aang said. "Trust that Toph will be alright."

"But she's…" I couldn't say it. It sounded too mean, but Aang knew what I meant.

"She's never let that stop her before. Remember, she can see with her feet."

"I know but still…" I couldn't help but worry. I mean, Heidi was talking about gangs and that made me nervous. What if she was in the middle of a shooting or worse…eek!

Aang tried to cheer me up with a story, "One time she took on a hundred of Dai-Lee Agents all by herself and beat every single one of them to a pulp. In our group, she was mostly the brawn. But she knew how to listen before striking, which is why I'm not all that worried about her." In my peripheral vision I could see him smile at me, "But she's my best friend so I really want to find her."

I pulled my hand out from under his but not before giving it a little squeeze. Then I tried to hide my furious blush while looking for Toph.

My phone rang again.

"I found her!" Heidi squealed through the phone so loud that I had to hold it away from my ear. Far away enough for Aang to hear the uplifting words. "We're heading back right now, don't move!" I looked around to see if there were any cars coming before driving onto a deserted lot to execute a rapid u-turn and pedal to the metal so I could ask Toph what in the world had happened to her.

**Toph's POV**

I guess I was stuck in Ana's car for about an hour, napping, before I got bored. Yeah, I was bored of sleeping. Go figure.

And my mouth was so dry. I had orange juice in the morning but I guess I sweated it out of my system.

I fingered for the little handle that opened the door. I pulled it out and pushed open the door when all of a sudden I hit my head on the window. Rubbing (and silently cursing) the sore spot I wondered why it hadn't opened. Maybe she locked it?

"How do you open this again?" I wondered out loud as I went sifting through my head for the instructions that Ana had left me before we left the house.

First, find the handle. Check.

Second, find the lock and pull it up. Umm…is that what I was missing?

I really hated that there were barely any vibrations inside the car. Outside was not problem, but all the insulation on the inside really messed up my vision. I let go of the handle to search for the little lock thingy. When I found it I had trouble opening it because my nails were too short to lift it up. After about a minute of wrestling it, it pulled up.

Third, pull the handle and push open the door. Check.

I'm free!

I was careful to close the door because I didn't want to get my cast stuck. The stupid cast. The unneeded, unwanted, superfluous cast that was always making me mad and hurting my head when I wanted to scratch it.

I walked off towards the store, eager to find Ana so she could buy me a soft pillow or something comfortable to sleep on.

Why did this have to happen to me? I bet this would never happen to Melon Lord. Melon Lord would have a million pillows and a comfortable spot to sleep in.

"Oh, I've been waiting for you," Andy's voice made my skin crawl.

"Why?" I asked like it was the most stupidest thing in the world.

"We never really got to talk the last time we met." I could feel him coming closer and I stood my ground.

"That's because you ran away like a scared little chicken because of Heidi's dad." I felt him grab me by my hand and drag me off somewhere near the side of the building. Here, I felt that there were a smaller number of people who could watch us.

Good for him, better for me.

"Listen, I'm not going to have you speak about me that way."

"I speak however I want to," I assured him.

A slap on my cheek gave me a reality check. This guy wanted to control me. But I wouldn't let him do it.

I laughed. "Were you expecting that to hurt? Because it actually kind of tickled." My taunting tone took on a darker side, "I dare you to do it again."

He let out a disbelieving gasp as I punched his face. I could hear the breaking of bones and cartilage.

_Ha ha, I broke his nose_, I thought in a sing-song voice.

"I hope that let you come to your senses. If you _ever_ hit me again…you're _going_ to regret it. Same goes for _any_ of my friends."

I couldn't stand to be in the same vicinity as this guy anymore. I took off towards the streets behind the store. Anywhere I could be alone.

He didn't understand how lucky he was to get off with a broken nose. I was ready to beat the crap out him, but I didn't.

Why didn't I? Oh yeah, if Ana or Heidi ever found out, they'd kill me because I'm not supposed to be involved with him. But did that mean I couldn't beat him up?

I pondered this for a moment.

I didn't feel like going back there to beat him up. Plus the punch to the nose was enough for the slap he gave me.

Ew! I exclaimed in my head in realization, He touched me! Now I have to go scrub my cheek raw. I hope stupidity isn't contagious.

* * *

I went around the block to avoid the spot where Andy and I had met in case he was still lurking around but before I could go back into the parking lot I heard someone calling for me.

"Hey Toph, you need a ride somewhere?"

"I don't know," I replied to Riley.

"Why's your cheek red?" he asked, his voice controlled.

"An ass slapped it but I broke his nose."

In a serious tone he asked, "Was it Andy?"

"Do you know of any other asses that are dumb enough to mess with me?"

He chuckled. "Do you want to get something to eat?"

"Why not?" I patted my belly. "This bad boy could use another meal."

"Get in."

* * *

"Do you miss China?" Riley asked me as I shoved sixteen fries down my throat.

I thought about that while I chewed.

I shrugged as I swallowed. "I guess. I mean, Its only been a week since I've been gone, right?"

He changed the subject, "Toph…please don't get involved with Andy anymore."

I leaned back against the cushioned seat.

"Okay, now does that mean I _can't_ beat him up? Or I _can_ but I just walk away from it after he's been pulverized and incased in concrete?"

He took a sip of his soda before answering.

"Don't get anywhere near him."

I frowned. "So that means I can't beat him up? Why not just shove the straw through my eye, I think that'd be less painful."

I heard him sigh.

"He slapped you, Toph," he said slowly so I could understand.

"Yeah, and I broke his nose for it. Nobody gets away with hitting me or touching me without my consent. That's just the way it is." I smiled, proud of what I had done, but it took me a while to realize that Riley wasn't on the same page as me.

He played devil's advocate, "But do you think that'll stop him from coming back again and again?"

Where was he going with this? "If he knows what's good for him."

"He doesn't know. He'll keep on coming back with more force, whether that means more people or just brute strength I don't know. But I do know that he won't stop until he's satisfied. Toph, you already have a broken arm. Take care of yourself. If not for you, for us. The ones who care what happens to you."

I moved the straw inside my milkshake in a circle. I can't believe Riley. He actually has the audacity to make me feel guilty for my actions. Now, I wasn't so sure I liked him talking.

"You sound better with your mouth shut." I slurped down my milkshake.

* * *

Riley dropped me off back in front of the parking lot. We probably would've stayed longer at the restaurant that served good fries if Riley hadn't left me to ponder what he said. I got tired of us not speaking about anything so I told him I wanted to go.

Now I was busy feeling the steps of each and every person that walked by. If they were in a car it'd be harder to detect them. Why does everything have to be so freaking hard in this world?

I heard my name being yelled out for the second time that day by a loud screeching sound, almost like a bird being strangled. It was Heidi.

"Toph! Toph! You gave me a freaking heart attack, woman!" I was brought into a tight embrace and I couldn't breathe.

I strained to speak, "One arm is broken already, want to go for two?"

Heidi, as small as she was, had managed to lift me up in the air and now she set me back down.

Dramatically she said, "If that's the price for another day with you I'll gladly take it."

"Doesn't mean _I_ will."

"Toph," Toto's voice interfered in our squabble. "Where were you? You nearly gave Heidi a heart attack. Not to mention Ana almost died of an anxiety attack."

I smiled. "How many attacks are possible in a day?"

"For Heidi the limit is ten. For Ana, one is enough."

I heard a punch and assumed it was Heidi punching Toto's shoulder. I heard her flip open her cell phone, dial some numbers and had to cover my ears when she screeched like a wounded saber-tooth baby moose-lion, "I found her!" She shut the phone.

"Toph," Heidi said. "Ana and Aang will be here in a while. Are you hungry? We can go get something from the deli."

"I already ate."

"How?" Toto asked.

"With Riley. By the way, I'm craving another milkshake. Go buy me one," I ordered.

I heard the squeal of car tires behind me and edged a little closer to the store away from the pavement. I felt two people run up to me and hug me like I was their lifeline.

"You guys are just hell-bent on rebreaking my arm, aren't you?" I struggled to say angrily.

"Toph," Twinkles whispered in my ear, making me shiver in the intense heat. "I'm so glad you're okay. I was so worried."

Before I could stop it I felt heat rush into my face at his words.

I could hear the soft keening of cries coming from...a head full of curls it felt like.

"Ana?" I asked.

Ana detached herself from me and I could feel a prick in my neck from the intense gaze I knew she was giving.

Half hysterical, she shouted at me without taking a breath, "Where were you!? I can't believe you left the car? Were you too cold? Was it hot? I locked the door! I have groceries that are melting and I have to be home in less than an hour to drive my mom to work then I have to set up. And then I have to–"

Something clamped itself over Ana's mouth, stopping her hysterics.

Toto spoke, "Ana, calm down. Toph's been with Riley this whole time. She's been safe."

A surprised mumble came from Ana, "Rhiney?"

"Riley?" Aang said in surprise.

"Yeah, Riley," he assured them. "So don't worry anymore and hurry up and get home."

I heard her sigh. "Wait," she exclaimed. "Toph, I'm gonna be gone all night–and after a scare like the one you just gave me you are not staying alone!" she said in a hurry before I could open my mouth. When Ana was scared she sounded like my mother when she got angry.

"She can stay with me!" Heidi exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" Aang asked.

"Yay! Another sleep over!" she exclaimed.

I sighed.

"Heidi, are you sure?" Ana asked.

"Girl, don't worry about it. My parents won't mind."

"But Toph doesn't have a change of clothes…"

I decided to hurry up and solve this problem so that she could go home and stop worrying. Because if she stopped worrying then I'd stop feeling guilty.

"I can change into whatever clothes Heidi has. It's only for tonight so I'll be fine. Toto and Twinkle Toes can drop us off–if that's okay with them–at her house while you go home and do what you gotta do. Deal?" I answered for her. "Deal. Alright, now get a move on before I drop kick you." I turned her towards her car.

She hesitated. "Um…okay. But remember to call me if you need anything. Heidi, _please_ be sure to feed her and–"

"Go!" I interrupted.

"Don't forget to call and…oh I know I'm forgetting something…"

"Yeah, your butt in the seat–now get going."

She had finally left after saying her goodbyes and more instructions.

Toto and Twinkles dropped us off at Heidi's house and I go to meet her family.

Her father, Carlos, and big brother, Alex, I had already met…yesterday? I believe it was.

I hadn't met her mom or her grandma yet and I was kind of looking forward to that.

"Mom, this is Toph. She's that foreign exchange student that's staying with Ana I was telling you about. She needs somewhere to stay. Ana's mom is going to host a party or something. Toph? This is my mom."

From behind I heard some shouting in Spanish. I think that came from the grandma.

"Nice to meet you, Toph. Tell me if you are hungry or thirsty. Do you want some water? Soda? Lemonade? If you don't want anything be sure to let me know."

"No thank you, but I'll be sure to let you know."

"It was nice meeting you. But now I think my mother would like to meet you...now."

Heidi spoke, "Sorry, Toph but my G-ma is getting a little restless and for some insane reason really wants to meet you."

Heidi's Grandmother grabbed my hand roughly. I could feel her nails digging into my skin and the prick on my neck became even more intense. I thought she was blind.

Then I heard words in Spanish that I really did not understand.

Suddenly I heard Heidi butt into what her Grandmother was saying. Soon shouts went back and forth across the rooms as other people joined in the conversation. A male joined in, then another male. I decided to just stay out of family affairs, especially if they were going on in a foreign language.

"Toph and I are going to hang outside for a while. I'll clean it before we go to sleep," Heidi yelled, frustrated from all the yelling I guess.

Behind me I heard the ranting of the Grandma as Heidi grabbed my cast and led me out the door.

* * *

Sitting on the hood of her car Heidi was laughing at how ridiculous her family was while I just sat down, enjoying the feel of the metal hood and the heat against my skin.

"…And then she gets all, like, defensive and is like 'I'm telling you she came from the sky'. 'She came to the U.S. on a freakin' airplane, of course she came in from the sky, I know she didn't _swim_ all the way from China', I told her. Right, Toph?"

I gulped. "Yeah," I said coolly.

Heidi continued ranting about her Grandma, "I swear my Grandma's on crack. She thinks she knows everything. She even prides herself in being one with the spirits. I mean, I know this, but did she have to go that far?"

"How far are we talking about?"

"Football field far. She brought up that day last week where we had that freaky storm just pop up in the middle of the day and how she "felt" something coming through a portal. I told her it was gas but she didn't believe me. So now she's convinced that you're an alien from another world–and you only met her like freaking ten minutes ago."

"Another world, huh?" I said quietly as Heidi got to monologue about all the other freaky things her Grandma has seen.

Could her Grandma really see these things? I mean, right now Heidi was talking about some kind of leprechaun that had popped into her Grandmother's room one night. And I'm no Avatar but I seriously doubted leprechauns had anything to do with the Spirit World.

I interrupted Heidi who was just getting started on a story about a picture of a ghost she had captured at some island, "You're Grandma's blind, right?"

"Yeah. Ooh, you know I read this book once where there was this little boy who was blind and he was an Oracle, able to predict the future with help from his…well, not really masters but the one who gave him the power. And everything the creature uttered into the blind boy's ear was true. The boy, though, such a pity, could never lie and had to always speak the truth."

I sat up on the hood of the car, intrigued, waiting for her to continue, but she didn't.

I tried to get her started back up again.

"And then…"

"Then what?" she answered.

"Was there a point to the story?" I asked.

"No, not really."

I smacked my hand against my head in frustration, just like Snoozles used to do when we were traveling together.

My new friends were so random.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Okay, I wanted to apologize for not getting this in sooner. Actually I was going to post yesterday but then my internet did this weird thing where I had to click buttons and in my life I try to avoid buttons as much as possible. **

**Anywho, I know my girl SLSGIRL, that is, will vouch for me when I say I've been busy. **

**I was going to continue this chapter but I'm already at twelve pages so I think I have to separate this again into two chaps. **

**Again, sorry for the delay. I honestly have to get a hold of my schedule better. Anywho, please R&R both my stories, tell me what you love, hate. And yes, I know I need to add some Taangy fluff up in there, but It'll come in due time, don't worry. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	16. Free At Last!

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. No der. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's POV**

"Breaking your nose wasn't enough, was it?" I asked the guy who was starting to resemble a fly around meat. Always near it and sometimes landing on it when the meat could really do without it.

By fly I mean Andy and by meat I mean me.

"You broke his nose?" Heidi whispered in awe.

I nodded.

"Yes," Andy said in that pedophile voice of his. "And I of course have to teach her a lesson."

"Darn it, Warhawk. Why don't you just go back under that rock you crawled out from? Nobody likes you and nobody will _ever_ like you. Are you doing this because you have self-esteem issues or something. Honestly, it's pathetic." She jumped off the hood and so did I. "You need to get over yourself before I beat you up again."

I heard him sigh and it pissed me off. "Still as annoying as ever. Why don't you just go back to your country and leave the ones who actually belong here do what they want?"

Heidi scoffed. "You're so stupid it's a wonder you even know how to talk. Now I'm not going to repeat this again so listen well. I…am…an American. And don't you forget it."

"I'm sorry did you say something," Andy mocked her, "your voice was just so annoying that I just shut it out."

"You didn't shut it out," Heidi smirked. "It went in one ear and came out the other because there's nothing inside your head to stop it."

"Ha!" I exclaimed.

"Shut up, Tophy. Learn better manners," the fly said to the meat.

"Good manners means not harassing people and not being an annoying little pest that seems like it's attached to my back," I retorted.

"I'd be happy to oblige if that's what you want," the fly answered.

I groaned in disgust.

"Warhawk," Heidi said, "would you just go already. I'm _not_ in the mood to fight with you right now. If you don't go I'll just yell out for my dad and you'll be out of here faster than a rabbit out of a trap."

"Just give it a rest already Melon head," I added in.

Enraged, but knowing that if he screamed at Heidi her family could hear it, he whispered low voice, "I'm sick of you guys telling me what to do–" I heard the sounds of an attack towards Heidi being blocked. A thud landed squarely under Warhawk's ribs, knocking the breath out of him. But when Heidi started walking back towards me Andy lunged at her.

As quick as a rabbit out of a trap I shot a pebble towards the lamppost up above Warhawk's head, leaving everything in total darkness. Well, for them anyways. Both of them stopped in their tracks.

"Take one more step and die, Warhawk," I threatened in the silence. I grabbed Heidi's hand and pulled her towards the car, towards safety. Warhawk stayed where he was.

"Toph, what are you going to do?" Heidi asked uneasily from behind me.

"I am about to send Andy Warhawk to hell," I happily answered.

I cracked my neck and the knuckle of my unbroken hand.

_Time to show this guy what I think of him._

"You're in a cast; you're no match for me," Andy said arrogantly.

"One on one I could beat you, but with your buddies hanging out near the end of the street waiting for your signal it might be tougher, but not impossible."

Andy gulped. "How'd you know?"

I laughed in the cold stone silence of the night feeling the cool air against my face. "After I get rid of you, Warhawk, I'm going to get rid of your buddies that you have waiting at the end of the street," I threatened him.

I could feel his heartbeat increase.

I encased his feet in earth and began hitting him in places where I knew would be the most painful to any body (thanks to Ty-lee and her freakish extensive knowledge about human pressure points that I thought I'd never use). She taught me how to get a feel for the exact location through vibrations.

I hit him repeatedly just under his ribcage, the crease of his elbows (resulting in a dead arm that he probably wouldn't be able to use for a couple of days), face and groin. His groans of pain and fruitless resistance he put up against me had me laughing in his bloodied face. The fight was over so quickly that it couldn't even be called a warm-up.

He fell to the ground and I earthbended him a couple of hundred feet away, just for good measure. Then I cracked my knuckle and walked down the street to meet up with his buddies.

909090990

"Toph? Toph?" Heidi asked nervously when I came back to her (she had waited near the car). I wiped my hands clean. "Toph, what just happened? Are you okay? I'm scared of the dark…just so you know."

"Never better!" I exclaimed. I stretched out on Heidi's porch, waiting for her to open the door. I felt so good about myself beating up 7 guys total.

"A-are you sure? Not hurt anywhere, maybe your arm?"

I held out my arm for her to inspect. "See? Not a scratch…not that I can _see_ for obvious reasons." Though I knew she wouldn't find a scratch or any other external injury on me, I tried to hide the fact that my arm felt like it was on fire from earthbending.

She led me up to her room and prepared the bed for us to sleep in.

"I can't believe you," she said in wonder. "You beat up seven guys…fat, muscle-y guys that are just as, if not, worse than Andy Warkhawk!" She sighed, "We can't tell anyone."

I gasped and plopped down on the unmade bed. "What are you talking about? We have to tell someone! I was in a cast and I beat seven…" As soon I started gushing about it I realized that I had not just fought seven guys–I had earthbended them, practically, out of this world. Thankfully, it was dark when I did it, but how was I going to explain the fact that I had beat them in a cast? I couldn't. Not without having to expose the fact that I don't belong here.

Don't belong…. I never realized that this world would bring back the feeling of not belonging. By not belonging I meant with my parents. I loved them and they loved me but the way they had wanted me to be and the way I actually am were two different people. Different worlds.

Ironic huh?

"What's this song?" I asked Heidi when she turned on the radio I've come to love in this world. And the music. The amazing music. Especially that rock stuff.

"Um…ooh! It's _Who I Am_ by Jessica Andrews. This is like my second favorite song in the entire world," Heidi exclaimed as she plopped down beside me.

"What's the first?" I asked.

"It's a tie between _Lucy in the Sky _by The Beatles and _Love Story _by Taylor Swift. Both great songs. Want some icecream?"

I shook my head. "Nah, let's just go to sleep. Beating up stupid hambones really tires me out." I slid under the covers.

"Kay…." Heidi slid underneath as well but kept the unspoken required amount of space between us. A pact between girls that was easily broken if you slept with someone like Heidi who enjoyed taking up the space in her sprawled out sleep.

It took me a while to get to sleep. But before I could that song: _Who I Am_ was stuck in my head.

_**Sometimes I'm clueless and I'm clumsy  
But I've got friends that love me  
And they know just where I stand  
It's all a part of me  
And that's who I am**_

So when I make a big mistake  
When I fall flat on my face  
I know I'll be alright  
Should my tender heart be broken  
I will cry those teardrops knowin'  
I will be just fine  
cause nothing changes who I am

I bet this Jessica chick didn't get transported to another world. If she did I bet that would change something about her.

How could I be my truly amazing kick-butt self if I had to hide a part of me from my new friends? I didn't want to hide it…but I couldn't tell anyone because of _our _pact.

I snuggled deeper into the cover, kicking Heidi's leg out of my way, and went to sleep. I did have school tomorrow.

* * *

"Toph? You're alive?" was the first thing Ana said to me when Heidi and I had arrived that morning into homeroom.

Heidi and I went still. Did Ana know what happened last night? Oh, please let it be anything but that.

"I would've thought that Heidi would've forgotten to feed you or worse…" she lowered her voice, "clothe you." She laughed heartily.

Heidi and I kind of just did some awkward chuckling.

"What's wrong?" Ana asked.

Heidi and I both tried to explain our awkwardness.

"...spiders were everywhere and it freaked me out and we were stomping..." was part of Heidi's story.

"...pickles-there was an augmentation of pickles-in the bathtub and we had to clean them..." was part of my story. (Don't even ask where I got the pickles from but I just really had nothing else to go on.)

Ana, though, found it really hilarious. She started laughing heartily.

Twinkle Toes came up behind me with Toto.

"What's so funny Ana?" Toto asked.

Twinkle Toes put his hand on my shoulder as a greeting.

"Toph and Heidi were probably up to no good but they have lousy cover stories," Ana smirked.

Toto whistled low. "What were thine ladies up to last night?"

"Um..." before I could answer Twinkle Toes pulled me a little closer towards him. Close enough where I could smell this really weird smelling stuff on his person. It was strange...this wasn't his usual smell and, though it smelled good, I didn't like it. "Why do you stink Twinkle Toes?" I asked holding my nose. He grabbed hold of my nose and wiggled it; I smacked his hand away.

"Hey guys," Twinkles addressed the gang. "The principal needs a word with Toph and I, so we'll see you in homeroom in a bit okay?"

Before I or anybody could ask him why he dragged me off tightening his grip on my shoulder as he steered me away from our friends and towards a secluded hall.

"Twinkle Toes, you're not acting like yourself. What's up?" he let go of my shoulder.

"What's up? I'll tell you what's up!" he hissed.

"Could you? I mean it's not like I asked or anything," I retorted.

He sighed. "Toph…I know what you did last night. It's not like Todd's house is that far away from Heidi's or Ana's. It's right in the middle."

I gulped.

"Were you spying on me?"

"No! It's not like I was spying. I was going to see if you wanted to go back into the Spirit World. Then when I finally got there I found many bodies strewn everywhere with pieces of earth either on top of or beside them. Toph, you're injured!" he grabbed my plastered arm. "And you still earthbended? I thought I told you not too!"

I pushed him away from me.

"Twinkle Toes, just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean you get to boss me around. Don't forget, I was your teacher. _I_ boss you around." I flicked his forehead. "I think this world and all the attention you're getting is filling up your head with arrogance and it's really pissing me off."

"It is not," he retorted harshly.

"Then what is your problem!?"

I'd been getting so angry that I didn't notice the footsteps coming towards us until a nasally voice said, "Is there a problem here kids? Why don't you go to class now?"

"Sure thing." I turned away and went to class, not even bothering to wait for Aang because I truly had nothing more to say to him.

In fact, I was tired of him making me do things I didn't want to do. I wanted to tell Ana and Toto all about me (maybe they could've helped) but Mr. High-and-Mighty had convinced me that it was better to just shut up.

If he wanted to talk I'd only listen if he was going to apologize, until then I wasn't speaking to him.

* * *

**A/N: So sorry that I haven't updated since like 3 weeks. I lost my flashdrive and found it just a couple of days ago. Sucks, I know. But I'm thinking of making a series of short chapters to make up for my abscence. So again, totally sorry but I'm writing now so whatev. **

**I don't feel like sleeping so I'm going to work on the other chapter. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	17. Avatar Roku?

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Avatar. No der. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's POV**

Most girls were complicated. Saying one thing and meaning the other. The kind that beat around the bush. Undecided women.

That was most girls.

But that wasn't Toph.

She was simple. Hardcore. And straightforward.

So, why did I feel like I barely knew her anymore?

Instead of telling the gym teacher that interrupted our conversation to mind her own beeswax she'd agreed to go back to class. And whenever I tried to have a conversation with her she just ignored me. It's been a week and she was still ignoring me. This surely wasn't the same Toph I had known for almost 7 years...was it?

Why hadn't she told me what was wrong? I thought we were best friends. We told each other everything.

I explained these thoughts to Todd as we sat down at his dining room table doing our art homework. I was drawing his earth toned dining room and he was drawing the landscape outside his window.

"Listen, Aang," he said. "Maybe she had a point. Ever thought of that?"

The absurdity of that thought had me draw a rather nasty black line in the middle of my drawing.

"What do you mean by that Todd?"

I erased furiously.

"Today at lunch did you hear anything Toph said?" I took a minute to think about it as he continued. "No, you didn't. Why? Because a group of girls came up to you and started asking you questions about your country, if you were single, and your hair. You were paying complete attention to them while ignoring us. Now I know you didn't do it on purpose. You know how I know?"

I shook my head and blew the eraser shavings off the table. _I was paying attention to them to make sure I didn't reveal anything about us traveling forth in time. Excuse me for trying to protect our secret._

"I know," he continued, "because no matter how good your grades have been-you're incredibly stupid when it comes to girls and their feelings." He got up and tossed me a soda from the refrigerator.

"I know a lot about girls and their feelings. I've had my fair share of problems." Namely: Katara...Katara...Katara. I opened and closed the top of the can rhythmically.

Todd shook his head. "Like what? Unrequited love? That's not what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about-specifically-Toph and her feelings."

"I just don't get what her problem is. I haven't done anything wrong...have I?"

He sighed and fished in the fridge for some pie.

"Just...right now you and Toph are the talk of the school. I swear it's like you're celebrities because the guys think Toph is the hottest thing ever and the girls think you're the best thing since...Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise or one of those stupid actors. You shouldn't let all this attention get to your head."

"That's what Toph said too, but I think I can handle just fine."

He sighed and shook his head. "Every closed eye is not sleeping, every open eye is not seeing." He licked the pie off his fingers after he had stuffed it in his mouth in two bites.

"What are you talking about?"

He smiled a private smile. "Meditate on it, my good sir."

I excused myself from the table to go outside to try and meditate this situation out. My toe barely hit the wrap-around porch when I was pushed back by an extremely irritated Riley.

"Sorry, Aang. Where's Todd?" His normally calm face was splotched with red and his hair was in a wild tangle around his face.

I was scared to answer. "I-in the kitchen. What's wrong?"

"He did it again!" Riley growled as he ran his fingers through his hair. It stood up on ends like that Einstein fellow we were studying two days ago.

"Shut up and calm down you stupid loudmouth." The Todd that was obsessed with Romeo could change so drastically to a callus man. "What did that brute do this time?"

Riley paced back and forth and fast and furious strides. "He made her cry _again_! I thought he was going to go out for more than just one hour. When he saw her on the couch drinking a freakin' soda he snapped and scared the living-"

"And what did you do?" Todd asked.

"Yelled at him of course. See what that got me?" He lifted up his shirt and there was a huge fist sized bruise on his abdomen. He pointed to his eye and now that he had stopped moving I noticed it was swollen.

He yelled, "I hate him! Ugh!" He punched the wall and broke through the drywall.

Todd pointed at him. "You're fixing that." Todd picked up a soda bottle on the coffee table, inspected it, shrugged and chugged it. "Have you spoken to Heidi?"

Riley plopped down on the couch and ran a hand over his face. His eyes were wild and furious. For a second there, he looked just like Zuko. I shook my head to clear it.

"No," Riley answered. "I...I can't. I hate seeing her cry and I...I just can't!"

"Dude," Todd sat down on the couch opposite of Riley. I sat down on the floor. "You can't do everything, okay? Heidi's going to bounce back, you know it. She's a little Mexican jumping bean, man."

Unexpectedly, Riley shot up from the couch and grabbed Todd's shirt, threatening to punch. Todd looked at him, silently asking Riley if he could do it. Before that could happen I pulled them apart.

"Riley, hitting him won't solve anything." He let Todd go.

"Yeah, but it'll make me feel a hell of a lot better." He began pacing back and forth, trying to relieve the tension from his body.

Todd stood up and dusted himself off. "Now I'm going to have to add emotional expenses to your debt."

"Todd..." Riley said in a warning tone.

Todd held up his hands in surrender.

"Riley, take five deep, deep breaths. In through your nose and out through your mouth," I instructed.

Riley stopped and looked at me. "Aang...no offense, but I'm not in the mood."

"Trust me," I pointed to myself. "It'll make you feel a lot better."

He took in the deep breaths slowly. When he finished he looked a bit calmer.

"Thanks...I guess."

"It's all about the breath. Remember that." Could he have been a firebender in another life? I mean, I was giving him Firebending techniques just because for a fraction of a second he had reminded me of Zuko, and he had executed them perfectly. This world was definitely going to give me whiplash.

Todd held out his cell phone. "Call her."

Riley turned his back. "You don't understand. I can't. How can I?"

"Usually you'd just press the buttons."

Riley grabbed a pillow from the couch and whirled it at Todd. Why did Todd have to irritate him? Maybe I could help....

"Umm, what's this all about?" I asked. I was at a lost as to what they were talking about. The only thing I registered was that someone had made Heidi cry and I didn't like the sound of that.

Riley sat down on the couch and his shoulders seemed to slump in exhaustion. His face unnerved me, for it wasn't the calm facade he usually had on. This face seemed to be 112 years old. He looked tired.

"It's my dad," he explained. "He hates Heidi because she's not from a wealthy or prestigious family. He's racist against anyone who isn't himself. Why my mother married him I'll never know. But today he made her cry again. And I couldn't protect her."

Fear washed over my features. "He didn't hit her too...did he?"

Riley's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "NO! I'd never let that happen!" He defiantly stated and I apologized. I smiled grimly and sat down next to him.

"I've been in a similar position as you. Many times, actually." I closed my eyes as I thought of all the times I couldn't protect my friends: Toph, Sokka, Appa, Momo, and Katara. Then again, we were in a whole other time period then. My problems were extremely different from their problems.

But I was the Avatar. I could adapt to anything. I had to help in some way.

I continued, "There was an instance where my...friend was kidnapped. I was so angry I wasn't myself anymore. I couldn't protect him; I hated feeling like that."

Riley nodded. "Scary how accurate you are."

"Well, I ultimately just ended up withdrawing from everyone and lied to myself about how I was feeling. But...something gave me hope. Hope that I could do something to get my friend back. Though there were many trials I had to overcome; I was able to get my friend back of my own will. That's what you have to do. Have hope that there is a way you can resolve this." I motioned for Todd to give me his cell phone and I handed it to Riley.

Riley weighed it in his hand. He sighed. "Sounds like your life has been crazy, man." He pressed some buttons and stood up to take the call outside.

"Everyone ought to bear patiently the results of his own conduct," Todd said quietly.

"What?"

Todd stood up and threw his bottle in the trash. "He won't learn if we tell him what to do. If he's a man he can figure it out himself." He gave me a look that seemed to hold more than what met my eye. "Same goes for you."

I scratched my head full of hair. "I'm going to go meditate. Don't wait up for me."

I put on my shoes and made my way to that thing called the Grand Canyon. But on my way out I caught a bit of Riley's conversation.

"H-Heidi...I'm sorry." He sounded so sad that I felt like I was intruding onto another side of the quiet Riley.

"What are you talking about? The song that Megan sings in _Hercules_? Heidi, please be serious for one second."

Is that what Todd meant by Heidi being able to bounce back? She was already singing?

"Heidi I don't get it! You were crying just two hours ago. Now you say you're fine? What in the world?"

If I was Riley I'd be asking the same thing. And...beg for forgiveness for putting her in that kind of situation.

"My God. 'It's over and done with so why worry anymore'? How could you say that? What he did was unforgivable. How can you forgive him?"

Did he need to get so angry? He ran a hand through his blond locks and I touched mine. I'd gotten used to this head of hair but it still bothered me. It itched and kept me wondering why it was even there.

"So you're not forgiving him but you're fine with this?"

His fingers were tensing up and I could tell he was having a hard time not crushing the phone in his palm.

"He made you cry Heidi. I don't get you at all." He was silent for a moment. "Is this your whole 'what's past is past' crap?"

Even from where I was beside the porch I could hear Heidi yell, "It's not crap! You know I hate to keep grudges-sometimes-but I don't want to keep living that moment in my mind so why not accept that it happened and be done with it? What's so wrong about that, Riley!?"

Riley sighed and apologized.

I turned to walk away, suddenly feeling guilty that I had eavesdropped on his private conversation. When I entered the Grand Canyon I was a bit tired from walking and decided to take a nap by the waterfall Toph and I had visited the week before. The heat trapped in the rocks even though it was in the shade was very inviting and before I knew it I had fallen asleep.

"Wake up, Aang."

I grumbled.

"Aang, wake up."

I swatted the hand on my shoulder away. In response a finger swatted my forehead.

Holding my head I jumped up to face the voice that had been speaking to me.

"The Avatar should not be sleeping in a place like this. Meditating here I can understand though."

I rubbed my eyes. "Avatar Roku?"

* * *

**A/N: **

**Don't kill me!!! Fuss me out all you want just please let me live!! **

**Extremely sorry about not updating. I'm trying to update more frequently but I barely have a chance to get on the computer. **

**So sorry! **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	18. Pouring Rain Can Lead to Sunshine

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on… **

* * *

**Aang's POV**

"Avatar Roku!" I jumped up from where I was lying and rubbed my eyes again. Was I dreaming? Was I in the Spirit World? "What are you doing here?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me after your encounter with Koh."

He smiled and all the memories of him rushed back into me. The guidance he provided for me throughout my travels. The way he used to help me when I had to defeat the Fire lord. Maybe…

"Avatar Roku!" I exclaimed with fervor.

"Yes, Aang," he said in that soft voice that held great meaning.

I'd sort of missed it since I haven't heard it in a while. Even when I was back home I very rarely had reason to contact him for advice like I had when I was just 12 – though technically 112, but why deal with technicalities like that? Being Avatar meant that I had to solve problems my own way so I could never truly ask much of his help.

With eyes full of desperation and hope I asked vehemently, "Can you get us out of here? Toph and me?"

Silence followed my eager question and there was an emotion that I couldn't quite identify behind his dark colored eyes. I continued to stare. He was in this world as a Spirit so that meant that he had something important to tell me. I mean, he wouldn't just check up on me. He was probably here to bring us - Toph and I - back to our own world.

Softly, his voice sort of uncomfortable and distant he answered my question, "I cannot. This is something that you and Toph have to resolve by yourselves."

I tried to hide the hurt that was present inside me and instead opted to look determined. "But why? How? Why _her_? Why us?"

He looked uneasily at me and I couldn't understand the reason for it. What did he have to hide from me? Technically he was me so shouldn't I already know…? I'm so confused.

"Um…she's here for a very _important_ reason but we'll talk more about that later. How are you enjoying your life here?" His tone turned cheerful near the end and only served to confuse me even more.

I ruffled my hair in frustrations and sat cross-legged away from him not answering. Arms crossed I glared at an innocent boulder a ways away from where I was seated.

How could he just act so indifferent to my situation? He was supposed to offer guidance to me when I needed it. Well, I need it now! But his words are running in circles around me as he avoids my questions. What reason does he have to avoid it anyways?

"Aang-" he said softly before I interrupted - Spirits forgive me for interrupting an elder.

"Is there some sort of meteor plummeting towards this whatchamacallit – Earth? – that only Toph and I can stop? Is that why we're here?"

He laughed uproariously and I glared at nothing.

I attempted again, "Are you here to take us _home_?"

He quickly silenced himself and my eyebrows knitted in frustration.

"Aang," he said just as soft as before.

"Yes?" I deadpanned.

A soft sigh. Suddenly I felt his light presence behind me, his back to mine. I wanted to move away since I was so irritated with him and everyone in the spirit world for that matter but I didn't want to be rude.

"You have friends now don't you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with a bit more enthusiasm than last I answered.

"Have you found that these friends have had some problems in their lives?"

This time my eyebrows knitted together in concentration as I thought of all of my friends and their problems.

Ana – basically has a stalker after her.

Todd – his parents are barely ever home.

Heidi – has to deal with that Kat person and Ana's stalker. Oh and Riley's dad.

Riley – obvious problems with his father. And anger. He had a problem controlling his anger.

Skeeter - …not really sure what his problem is. Maybe it was not getting enough attention because he did pull a lot of pranks.

I nodded my response to his question but realized that he couldn't see it and said, "Yeah, they have a lot of problems." A pause. "Does that mean that since I'm the Avatar all I have to do is help them get over their problems and Toph and I will be home free?!" I exclaimed in a rush.

Surely that's what he meant. I'm the Avatar. I have a duty to help whoever is in trouble. Oh this was great! I couldn't wait to tell Toph that I found us a way home! Surely she'd talk to me then!

"…all of it."

I turned my head around. "Did you say something Avatar Roku?"

He sighed. "How's Toph?" He asked conversationally.

My shoulders visibly slumped. "I'm not sure." My high from earlier's revelations left me.

This answer piqued his interest. "What do you mean you're 'not sure'?" I could feel him press back against me, eager to hear what I had to say.

I sighed and rubbed my temples in a calming matter.

"She…hasn't spoken to me…for a week." I pressed a little harder on my temples and rested my suddenly tired body against his.

Suddenly he was gone and I fell on my back – my equilibrium off – hitting my head on the hard rock, not even thinking about making the earth softer to mitigate the fall. I hissed when I touched a bruising bump at the back of my head.

"Aang how can this be?" Avatar Roku seemed tense, his voice serious.

Still holding my head I answered in a pained tone. "I don't know. Toph says I'm letting all the attention I'm getting at school get to my head but all I'm trying to do is keep our secret exactly that – a secret! But she doesn't understand that. I don't know what her problem is." I gently made a flowing motion with my hands and brought the water from the waterfall to the back of my head. The cool water provided me much needed relief from the burning pain.

"Aang…" Roku shook his head. "When it comes to women you never ignore them for others. Toph – though she's very different from your regular girl – is still a girl with feelings. She's your best friend. You should apologize to her." I opened my mouth but he spoke before I could say what was on my throbbing mind, "I know she'll forgive you."

I did feel a bit of relief from that since Avatar Roku has never been wrong – at least not that I know of. But I could still feel a bit of defiance in me. "It's not like I meant to ignore her," I grumbled. Moving the water back and forth in my hands now that the throbbing had ceased. "I was trying to protect her, why doesn't she see that?"

Suddenly the water in my hand was sprinkled on my face, leaving me blinking wildly. "Sprinkling rain leads to sharp, stinging, pouring rain, but in the end there's always sunshine."

I thought long and hard about his words. Pursing my lips and squinting my eyes as if that would help me see through to the meaning.

With a sigh, I gave in. I mean, I could sort of see what he was saying but not completely.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means, in your case, that if you have a small problem, that in turn can lead to accusations and misery for both parties but once the problem dissipates the two parties can experience happiness."

"But why do_ I_ have to apologize? I was just trying to _protect_ her."

"Because Aang, somebody must take the first step. _Both_ of you were in the wrong, and once you do apologize she'll realize that she may have been in the wrong as well."

I looked at him questionably. "Do you really think it'll work?"

"Oh, I'm sure it will." The sly tone in his voice had me looking at him with questioning wet eyes but decided that I just shouldn't ask anymore. I wiped the liquid off my face with my hands.

"Avatar Roku…" I wiped the water on my pants, "do you think she hates me?"

He shook his head, his white hair slowly flowing from the movement. "She can't hate her best friend, even if that friend makes a mistake."

I sighed in relief.

"I miss her."

I could hear Avatar Roku softly laugh before he disappeared. "Avatar Roku, where are you going? Avatar Roku!" With a soft smile and gentle eyes he left this world and went back to his own. I slumped on the ground, sad that Avatar Roku was gone but also guilty for ignoring Toph when I was the only person she could truly trust in this world.

Ana, Todd, Heidi, Riley, and even Skeeter were great friends but we couldn't tell them our secret for fear of disturbing their peace in their world. So in order for me to help them I had to do it in secret. Yeah…like that time when our gang snuck into the fire nation and saved a village from being burned up by a flaming meteor.

In my mind I relieved those sweet moments of friendship. All the laughing, the sneaky stuff, of course being con artists for a bit, and the dancing we did in the cave.

Dancing with Katara had been fun. The pain in my chest dully throbbed once before I switched my train of thought. Could Toph dance?

I'd never seen her dance and she'd been the only one sitting down just sipping her drink.

There was this dance this Saturday that Ana had told me about. Maybe I'd ask Toph.

Suddenly the ground around me rumbled and before I could jump up it swallowed me up. I wriggled around to see where Toph was.

* * *

**A/N:**

**So I just got back from the viewing. Sigh. Funeral's tomorrow and my make-up's smeared but whatev. **

**Anywho I'm glad I finished this up before because I'm certainly not in the mood to write my other story. But I probably could use the distraction. **

**Again: Sorry for not updating. **

**Since I don't have school on Monday I'm hoping to get the next chapter out tomorrow and a new chapter on my other story later tonight or tomorrow. But know that I'll be working hard. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	19. Toph's going where with who now!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on… **

* * *

**Toph's Pov**

Today was such a strange day. Strange because everyone was completely out of character.

While at Heidi's house, Ana came over to bring me back to her house. Just as I'm stepping out the door after her she yells, "CRAP!"

My first thought is that she hit herself on something but I feel that it's not her toe she's holding, it's a rectangle that I've come to know as her cellular device.

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

"We have to get home _now_!" she grabs my hand and pulls me off the porch practically flying to her car thing, shoves me in, locks the door, and speeds off towards her house.

I'm terrified to say anything on the ride to her house because I'm to busy gripping the seats for dear life. Sure the seatbelt keeps me…somewhat in place, but with the way she's driving I don't trust it worth a-

"Darn!" she yells.

I summon my voice. "Ana…what the hell's wrong with you?"

"I forgot to get some chocolate," she answers.

I'm forced to look at her with a face that I hope shows: _are - you - freakin' - kidding - me - right - now?_ Either she sees it and ignores it or is too busy doing this whole 'driving' nonsense.

We run to the supermarket and Ana tugs me everywhere, not noticing that she's about to rip my healthy arm out of its socket, then drags me back to her car and speeds off. Around us I hear bothersome honking and men and women howling words that I cannot comprehend.

She pulls up into her house, I presume, with a jolt that I swear just popped my back and gets out of the car running into her house. Slowly, I get out, afraid to break or dislocate any bones in my spine and trudge my way into her house.

I hear something being poured into a cup and smell the sweet aroma of chamomile, Ana's favorite. My favorite would have to be _Gyokuro_, a tea that is rich and silky-smooth. The delicate sweetness has a wide variety of flavors and mellowness so smooth that it seems to sooth the heart. Though it has a slight bit of bitterness to it, it leaves you feeling clean and refreshed that it's almost like a shower in your mouth. It's also called Jade Dew or Precious Dew.

But this wasn't my world and you couldn't find this stuff here. Suddenly I was in a bad mood.

A clatter in the kitchen brought me back to the present.

"Ana!" No answer. "ANA." Still no answer, just a bunch of cluttering and angry mumbling from her direction. "ANA!" I scream as I grab her shoulders and turn her around. "What in the world is wrong with you!?" I scream slash ask.

"What's wrong with me!? What's wrong with the world, Toph!? Men are so stupid!"

I let her go and cross my arms. My eyebrows knitted together in concern for her well being.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

I hear her sigh and the scraping of a chair being pulled out and the small thump she makes by sitting in it. "It happened again."

"What did?" I pulled up a chair in front of her.

"Riley's dad got angry at Heidi and she texted me that she was on her way over here. She's probably crying."

I stood up straighter. "Why is she going to be crying? And why did Riley's dad get angry?"

She sighed and I heard a thump on the table just before I felt the footsteps running from the porch to the door. I heard sobbing and a voice cry out, "Why did he have to come home early? He's such a butt!"

It was Heidi.

I felt her throw herself on me and sobbing into my shirt. Uncomfortably, but knowing she needed some comfort I patted her back. Was anyone going to freaking explain this to me?

Heidi was sobbing and mumbling incoherent nonsense into my shirt. I caught a few words.

"…soda…no coaster…dumb couch…angry goatee man…stupid me…."

I put my arms around her. "You're not stupid. Why are you saying that?"

The sweet scent of chamomile came up behind me as Ana handed the warm cup to Heidi. Shakily she gulped down the drink, spilling some on my healthy arm. The sweet liquid turned cold swiftly as it ran down towards my wrist.

I could feel her heartbeat, rapid when she first entered, slowly begin to calm but still maintaining a fast beat.

"You're okay now. You're okay," I said soothingly.

I can't explain why I was being so nice. Normally I'd be like hardcore, "Stop your crying you big baby. It's not going to solve you're problems". But I just couldn't bring myself to say it. I don't know why these new friends of mine did this…thing to me. They made me feel protective over them like I was with my friends back home. But I had no problem telling Katara or Sokka or anybody else what was on my mind.

I guess I felt guilty for deceiving them. Ana and Heidi and all of them. I wanted to tell them. Heck yeah I did. But it could mess up time and space and blah blah blah.

Heidi pulled away and I sat her down on my chair. The rustling of a bag caught my attention as it was being set in front of Heidi.

"And he was all 'I see you're on my leather couch. Oh and there's a soda in your hand. Where's your coaster? I've told you a million times to use a coaster when you are here. Riley why is it here? I tolerate it being your little play toy but to bring it home? What are you thinking?' and Riley's all like, 'She's not a toy' and defending me and stuff. Well his da'gum dad get's angry 'cause Riley's defending his freaking toy and he got hit so I just walked out the door and came here," Heidi rushed through all of sudden as if we were in the middle of a conversation. Then she started sobbing again.

"You left Riley there?" Ana asked.

Heidi sobbed harder. "If I h – hadn't left then he'd get something worse than a – a bru-bruise!"

I grabbed a chocolate and melted it in my mouth thinking about what I had just heard, trying to make it make sense.

So, Heidi was in Riley's house on his couch with a soda when his 'da'gum' dad came home and saw her not use a…coaster. Then he got angry at Heidi and started calling her an 'it' (my eye twitched at that) and because Riley defended her, he was hurt (my eye twitched again) and so Heidi ran out of there so Riley wouldn't get punished more. Yeah, I think that's the gist of it.

"Now I'm pissed."

Heidi was silent for a bit before laughing through her sobs. The usually chirpy Birdie was deathly quiet, afraid of that look in my blind eyes that made even the bravest of soldiers run for cover.

"I'm gonna have beat some a – butt aren't I?" I asked no one in particular. I censored myself for Ana's sake. Pounding my fist into my hand for emphasis I was about to walk away when a hand pulled at my t-shirt.

"I thought you were kidding," Heidi croaked, her voice sore from the sobs.

I "looked" at her. "Hell no! If anyone makes any one of my friends cry and I'll bust a cap on his butt!" I learned that phrase from Skeeter during lunch time. It was so much fun to say, but I was totally serious. I definitely wasn't going to sit around and just watch my friends cry over somebody.

I was Toph Bei Fong. Woman of action!

"Toph, please don't," Heidi pleaded. "If you were to get hurt in your condition Riley would get angry at me to allow such a thing to happen."

"Toph, I understand how you feel but we can't take this guy out on our own. He owns like a whole chain of Karate studios around the country and Hong Kong. He could kill us with two hands and both legs tied behind his back while blindfolded," Ana explained.

I wanted to laugh. Laugh at the stupidity of that statement. If she knew my true strength she'd definitely believe that I could take out that Karate guy. But she'd also freak. Well, I wasn't allowed to tell her anyways.

"Fine," I accepted grudgingly. "But if I ever bump into him you guys can't stop me. Got it?"

"Fair enough," Ana said.

"Who'd want to stop you?" Heidi asked, regaining a bit of strength in her voice.

Both Ana and I sat down, drinking tea and eating chocolates with Heidi.

"Riley hasn't called has he?"

"No…" Heidi trailed off at Ana's question. "He doesn't like hearing me cry. I think he's scared that I hate him or something."

"Why couldn't you pick a guy who had a nice dad? One who just sat around reading the newspaper and working to provide for the family he loved?" Ana grumbled.

"But I love him. Riley! Not his dad." A pause. "If there's a price for rotten judgment, I guess I already won that."

Soon she started humming. Then singing.

_**If there's a prize for rotten judgment  
I guess I've already won that  
No man is worth the aggravation  
That's ancient history, been there, done that!**_

Ana joined in:

_**Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'  
He's the Earth and heaven to you  
Try to keep it hidden  
Honey, we can see right through you  
Girl, ya can't conceal it  
We know how ya feel and  
Who you're thinking of**_

Heidi began again:  
_**  
No chance, no way  
I won't say it, no, no**_

Ana's turn:

_**  
You swoon, you sigh  
why deny it, uh-oh**_

I wasn't sure what was happening but it was like music night in the general's quarters and brought back great memories. I was barely even listening to them as I thought of Iroh – always trying to spice of music night trying to get me to sing karaoke. He never could get me to do it. My heart filled with regret. I distracted myself by listening to the Loudmouth and Birdie sing.

Heidi was singing:  
_**  
I thought my heart had learned its lesson  
It feels so good when you start out  
My head is screaming get a grip, girl  
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out  
Oh**_

Ana began again:  
_**  
You keep on denying  
Who you are and how you're feeling  
Baby, we're not buying  
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling  
Face it like a grown-up  
When ya gonna own up  
That ya got, got, got it bad  
**__**  
**_Heidi's turn  
_**  
WRONG: No chance, now way  
I won't say it, no, no**_Ana began again and I began humming the tune along with her.  
_**  
You're doin flips read our lips  
You're in love**_"You're right. I am in love," Heidi finished. "What's up with you Toph?"

This scene won't play,  
I won't say I'm in love

I was shaking my head their antics.

"Nothing. I just wasn't expecting for it to be music night around here."

"Well," Heidi mused. "It's not good to stay mad or sad for long. Sometimes you just got to go with the flow, you know? Hey, I rhymed." She chuckled at herself. I grabbed another chocolate.

"So what? You forgive that…butthole?" I crumpled the wrapper in my hands.

"Heck to the freaking no! But…I don't like holding grudges – sometimes. It happened. And look, I'm still alive aren't I? It's in the past so it doesn't matter anymore. So why get mad when you can get glad, you know? Darn," she mumbled. "Didn't rhyme that time." A pause. "Hey! I did rhyme! I got this poetry stuff good man!"

Birdie sat down and sipped her tea. "You're an idiot Heidi."

"I am _not_ an idiot! _I_ am the enter_tain_ment factor around here!"

"So what do we do now that Heidi's all…better?" I asked.

Heidi was the first to answer. "Movie!" She screamed.

Ana's voice stopped Heidi's determined pace towards the living room.

"Toph can't _see_ the movie Heidi," she said exasperated at having to constantly remind Heidi.

For at least one hour and thirty minutes we spent it arguing from subjects like how the eye works, to Ana's restrooms, to idiots in our lives and who was the biggest, to which season was better to have chocolate in.

Honestly, don't ask me how we ever got into such a wide spectrum of conversations because I have no idea. We were all talking so fast due to the caffeine in the chocolate that the conversations were almost a blur.

Suddenly something that was not us began singing.

_**I'm an emo kid, non-conforming as can be.  
You'd be non-conforming too if you looked just like me  
I have paint on my nails and makeup on my face  
I'm almost emo enough to start shaving my legs – **_

"Oh, that's Todd." I heard a small beep and in an impatient voice she said, "What do you want you emo kid?"

Suddenly she got quiet. "Riley?" she softly said. Birdie and I took that as our cue to leave (with the chocolates in hand) to give her some privacy.

We sat down on her bed, listening to some soft music, melting the chocolate in our mouths. The high and low notes of the supple music surrounding each other in a beautiful dance that just made you think of the clouds through the castle like structures of the western air temples. I liked our time there. It was nice…excluding the burned feet.

But I was feeling tired…so extremely tired.

Ana yawned. "I'm gonna take a little nap Toph. Wake me up if something happens."

I nodded, suppressing my yawn. Soon Ana's breathing evened out, her heartbeat slowed to a soft, delicate rhythm.

I soon fell asleep. But not before hearing Heidi, "It's not crap! You know I hate to keep grudges-sometimes-but I don't want to keep living that moment in my mind so why not accept that it happened and be done with it? What's so wrong about that, Riley?!"

I drowned out her voice and fell asleep on the soft, plushy bed next to Ana.

* * *

I could see. _Was I in the Spirit World or what_? Was the first thought that came to my mind.

Colors swirled around me. Beautiful colors. A few I recognized. Bright blue, calm blue, deep forest green, soft pink, a warm yellow, dark brown, Aang.

…Aang?!

I could see him reaching out to me. I wasn't angry at him anymore. I wanted to be with him. I reached out for his hand but I couldn't reach it. He was fading. Fading into a warm color of bright yellow light.

Screaming at the top of my lungs I commanded him to come back. But the sound died at my ears. It couldn't reach him.

He smiled and I could feel my heart cripple me, trapping me in a painful darkness. I tried once more, reaching out for his hand I silently begged for him to take it.

His hand was the only visible part of him. I stretched as far as I could but he slipped from my grasp and was swallowed by the light. I was left in nothing. Emptiness. I grabbed my shoulders and knelt down, a hot tear rolled down my skin. It hit the emptiness. The sound was deafening.

"Wake up Toph. Are you having a bad dream?"

I opened my blind eyes not seeing a body but recognizing a voice.

"Toto? What are you doing here?" I asked him as I sat up on the bed. Ana's quiet breathing was still behind me. She hadn't woken up yet.

"I saw you crying and –"

I held my arms up. "Whoa! Toph Bei Fong does _not_ cry."

A finger gently pressed under my unseeing eyes and smeared hot water on my cheek.

"Then what's this tear doing there?"

His hot breath fanned my face and smelled sort of like pie.

I pushed him away, uncomfortable at the small distance between us.

"Toph Bei Fong _does not cry_," I repeated again, more forcefully this time.

Crossing my arms I turned away from him.

"Listen," he put an arm around my shoulders lazily. Almost like it was the most natural thing in the world. I tensed uncomfortably. "I won't tell anyone you were crying if you do me a favor."

I punched his gut. "I already said I wasn't crying."

"Who was crying…" a soft innocent voice asked behind us.

"Well you see Ana –" I clamped my hand over Toto's mouth.

"Nobody," I answered her. "Toto's just an idiot." No need to get Ana all upset while she's so tired. She shuffled on the bed and her breath evened out once more.

Something wet touched my sensitive palm and I suppressed a squeal. I wiped my hand on Toto's shirt and flexed it, trying to get rid of the nasty feeling of his tongue. I walked out of the room towards the kitchen hoping to get a snack and away from Toto.

"Todd," Heidi said, "have you asked Ana yet?"

"Why do I even have to go?" he asked, irritated from behind me. I went to lean against the wall.

"Because it's homecoming! You have to go. Riley and I are going so I want my friends to be there too."

"You, my dear, need to expand your circle of gossips."

A frustrated sigh.

"Okay, okay. Toph's gonna go with me. Ana can go with Aang."

I raised my eyebrows. "Toph's going where with who now?" I asked.

"To homecoming." When he saw that I didn't understand he elaborated. "It's a dance."

"Hell no."

Silence followed my statement. Then a maliciously, sickly sweet voice spoke.

"Hey, Heidi. While I was in Ana's room I saw the most interesting thing in there. See, our little Toph here was –"

"– just saying how I'd like to come to homecoming with him since that seems like something your culture likes to do," I finished lamely for stupid Toto.

I could just feel the smirk radiating off of his form.

Heidi clapped, completely unaware of my murderous aura towards a certain guy.

"Oh, has anyone seen Aang?" Riley asked. "We came over here for that, but I sort of forgot." I could hear the fake chagrin in his voice.

"He left to go meditate but hasn't been back. We figured you'd know Toph," Toto further explained.

I crossed my arms tighter. "So what if I do? What's it to you?"

"We're worried," Riley answered.

"Not my problem."

"But you do have knowledge of his whereabouts," Toto stated.

I nodded. A soft hand touched my unhurt arm.

"Toph…" Heidi pleaded. "Please go find Aang. If not…I swear I won't stop bugging you for evers and evers." Her sickly sweet voice sent shivers up my spine that I thought only Katara could do. I narrowed blind eyes at her and walked out the door.

* * *

It was sort of chilly tonight. The air was not clean and sort of weighed on the body as I walked out into the streets. They were pretty much deserted except for the rowdy teenagers I could hear whistling and wanting to come over. But the glares I sent in their direction quieted them down until I passed.

Instead of using my hands to lower myself down into the canyon, I found a staircase leading down.

Using earthbending would be way faster, I know. But I wanted to take my time finding Twinkle Toes. I was still angry at him no matter what my dream self felt. She was probably the complete opposite of me: stupid.

I didn't want to think about it anymore so I just shut it out of my mind.

* * *

The walk was supposed to distract me, not annoy me to death. It was taking too long to walk down that I finally just jumped off of the stairs and landed inside a deep hole I had created in the ground. The earth shot me back up to flat land and I continued walking in the direction I felt another living presence.

The closer I got the more I could hear a conversation happening. With the next step I took I focused solely on the vibrations around me.

Bugs scurried on the rock floor, trying to find a place to rest. A snake was coiled and ready to strike a few feet beside me. Under me was a rat's dwelling. A few feet in front of me was a large boulder, behind that was Aang.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Okay. This chapter was getting way to long. Guess it's sort of a filler. But I'll get out the next chapter as soon as I can. Today I didn't have homework so I was able to get this out. Who knows how much homework I'll have tomorrow. But I'm gonna work on it as much as I can. **

**R&R!**

**P.S. for my other story. I'll work on that chap. tomorrow if I have time. If I don't it'll probably come out on Saturday or Sunday. But I'm taking art classes on Saturday so it's a bit hard to work on it. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	20. Skirts And A Punching Bag

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on… **

* * *

**Toph's Pov**

Silencing myself, I crouched behind the boulder and listened in to Aang. "Aang…" A voice said. "When it comes to women you never ignore them for others. Toph – though she's very different from your regular girl – is still a girl with feelings. She's your best friend. You should apologize to her." Why were they talking about me? How did that man know me? I've never heard his voice before. "I know she'll forgive you."

Heck no. Who was this man that was speaking false words to Aang? I say man because he sounded much older than 16 or 116 in Aang's case.

I never actually got that. The whole age thing, I mean. Aang was built like a 16 year old but was 116. It didn't make any sense to me and I really just didn't question it. As long as he wasn't dying on me anytime soon; I'd be fine.

I listened carefully, not even risking breathing loudly in the silent night. I heard sloshing of water. Was Aang waterbending? The sloshing stopped and I could just barely feel little droplets of water vibrate through the earth. I was able to feel that by focusing all my might into a single object. And that object at this moment happened to be the Avatar.

The man spoke again, "Sprinkling rain leads to sharp, stinging, pouring rain, but in the end there's always sunshine."

I almost scoffed but decided against it. Proverbs, metaphors, quotes…I did not particularly like them. Of course, living in the Fire Nation and frequently visiting a tea maker in the Earth Kingdom, I've gotten sort of used to all the proverbs. But ever since being taken out of that situation and into this one where the only things close to proverbs were Toto's weird words, it was weird hearing them again. The man spoke with such eloquence and grace that it enticed you to listen to the words. The only other man I know was a fat tea maker named Iroh, one of my best friends.

What did his words mean anyways?

I heard a soft sigh. "What does that mean?" the All Mighty Avatar asked.

I fought the urge to scoff again. Honestly, what kind of Avatar doesn't know the meaning to all the proverbs in the world?

A stupid one.

"It means, in your case, that if you have a small problem, that in turn can lead to accusations and misery for both parties but once the problem dissipates the two parties can experience happiness."

Who were these 'parties' that would eventually experience happiness? Toto and Ana? Riley and Heidi? Skeeter?

I cocked my head to the side.

What kind of problems could Skeeter be dealing with? How to pull a prank and run? Honestly, the kid seemed like the only one out of our little group of friends who didn't have any problems. Or at least kept them to himself.

"But why do_ I_ have to apologize? I was just trying to protect her."

My uninjured hand tensed into a fist, ready to strike. Protect! _Protect_! I got your protection right here Twinkle Toes!

I was ready to pounce and possibly dislodge a couple of limbs. But I fought the urge. I wanted to keep listening. Maybe I'd find out who the man Aang was talking to was.

I wasn't stupid. I could feel the man's presence but I couldn't feel _him_, his body. Charging in there would be a stupid idea. Years of training taught me that.

"Because Aang, somebody must take the first step. _Both_ of you were in the wrong, and once you do apologize she'll realize that she may have been in the wrong as well."

How was I in the wrong? That man really didn't know what he was talking about. _Aang_ was the one who was hogging up all the attention like The Pebble in a swimsuit. He was the one who was ignoring me. He was the one who didn't understand what it was like to see things through _my_ eyes.

This world…was nothing short of confusing. Every single time I walked down the street with Heidi or Ana or by myself, I developed migraines. Everything was moving all at once! My mind was trying to decipher all these new things in _one step_.

Brain overload much people?

I'd try to suppress it. The urge to kill that was caused by the pain, I mean. No need to unleash my earthbending fury on all these non-benders…though it was tempting. No. I promised Aang. No earthbending in public. And that I understood but…

That was sort of the other reason I had blown up at him.

Did he not understand that not earthbending was like asking me to stop breathing? It was like asking him to stop airbending or just bending in general, him being the Avatar and stuff. Earthbending was a major part of who I was. Earthbending made up 90% of me. The other 10% was just how kick-ass I was, but that's not the point. The point was that he was limiting me in ways he could never understand.

He had eyes, he could see. He didn't _have_ to airbend or bend anything else for that matter. But I couldn't do that. If I didn't bend I'd feel helpless and depressed, then anger for feeling helpless and depression. The rapid change in moods was more than enough to leave a regular person just breathless thinking about it.

Earthbending was how I saw. Ask me not to and I'll truly be blind. It gave me a feeling of hollowness inside if I wasn't earthbending. It was like denying a part of who I was and I don't do that. I'd have to come up with a compromise with Twinkle Toes if I was ever going to have peace.

That's probably why I blew up at him. I was just so stressed from the pain and pretending everything was fine when it wasn't. Usually, I'd tell you right out if something was wrong. But I felt so freaking guilty for keeping who I was a secret from everyone after they'd helped me so much that I just passed it off as if my troubles were nothing. Now that, I admit, was my fault.

Letting all my feelings get bottled up without letting them out was bound to bite me in the butt one of these days.

"Do you really think it'll work?" he asked the man.

"Oh, I'm sure it will." Suddenly, I felt a prick in my neck that I usually get when someone stares at me. Did the man know where I was? How'd I give away my position? I had been perfectly still! So still that in was developing cramps in my calves. _Who was this guy_? "Avatar Roku…do you think she hates me?"

A pang of guilt and anger hit me. Because I'd been ignoring him he was feeling down and not his usually overly peppy, cheery self that annoyed the stuffing out of me but that deep down I really didn't mind it. The guilt only lasted for about a second and then I moved on to anger.

_How_ could I hate him? He's so stupid. Hate wasn't my thing; it took too much energy to hate someone. But I did dislike many things. For the past two weeks I had disliked Aang because of what he did. But I couldn't hate him. He was my best friend. An idiot, sure, but my best friend nonetheless.

"She can't hate her best friend, even if that friend makes a mistake."

I stiffened even more than I was in my crouched position.

_Was this guy a mind reader_?

But the words Aang spoke next made my heart beat faster with unfamiliarity.

"I miss her."

He missed me?

I thought back to the times when the gang would have to run away because of Master Yu and Xin Fu trailing after us. My parents had only wanted me back because they thought Twinkle Toes captured me. They probably missed me, but I think it'd be safe to bet that they missed having something to control and protect. _I should buy them a Platypus Bear_, I concluded.

I think this was the only time someone had really missed _me_. _Truly_ missed _me_. Toph. Not a 'disabled' child but the real Toph Bei Fong.

And by the steady beating of his heart I could tell he wasn't lying.

An unfamiliar soft chuckle reached my ears. "Avatar Roku," Aang called out, "where are you going? Avatar Roku!"

Avatar Roku? As like another Avatar? I thought there could only be one per generation or something. Wait! I think he told us something about this before. Avatar Roku was one of his past lives…yeah, that's it! He was conversing with his past life.

Talk about split personalities.

The man's demanding presence was gone. Where did he go?

I searched everywhere for a sign of his presence but found nothing. Aang still hadn't moved from his position. Which was good, because we needed to talk.

Not caring about my still healing arm or the fact that earthbending was a no-no, I earthbended Aang into the ground using only three fingers. His head was the only part that he was able to move. Well, that's the only part of him I needed him to listen to.

He swiveled his head back and forth trying to found out where I was. I moved the boulder aside with my unhurt pinky. The movement caused me to cringe; the burning sensations were stronger, but I didn't care. I stood upright.

"We need to talk Twinkle Toes."

"Toph what -"

I cut him off. "Shut up and listen up, Aang. I am the one askin' the questions around here and you're going to answer me." He was silent for about ten seconds.

"Toph, please hear me out! I have something to –"

With a flick of my finger I hit his head with a small pebble and he shut up. The pain flared once before it dulled again.

"Did I stutter? I said you were going to listen to me and not speak." I waited and he showed no signs of speaking. His heartbeat was slowly becoming steady as the seconds passed by. "First of all, I want you to know that I don't hate you. I was just extremely pissed at you for two weeks because you're an idiot. Do you have anything to say for yourself? And it better be good because I'm done hearing stupid excuses."

He gulped. "Toph. I'm so sorry. I was being an idiot thinking that you needed protection. But after fighting alongside with you all these years, you'd think I'd learn." He laughed softly. "I forgot that you don't need anyone to protect you. But that doesn't mean that I won't be there for you. You're my best friend and I've missed talking to you. I've missed _you_. There's no one else like you in the world. I…" he stopped talking and his heart beat faster.

I scrunched my eyebrows. "You what?"

He refused to answer.

"You what?" I asked again.

His heart rate sped up. "You're…wearing a skirt, Toph."

"What? No I'm…" I remembered that I was. Damn Heidi! "Well, don't look you perv!"

I raised a wall in front of us.

"I wasn't! I turned my head."

My cheeks felt like they were on fire. I was going to have to kill Heidi for not having anymore clean clothes. Oh, she was going to get it.

I cleared the knot of embarrassment away from my throat. "Whatever. The second thing I want to stress, is that no earthbending policy."

"Toph," his tone was warning but still slightly embarrassed.

"Aang. Shut up and listen. I'm sick of not being able to earthbend. Earthbending is the very essence of who I am. How could you ask me not to? You turned out to be a pretty crappy best friend if you can't even tell how much it…it hurt me." I turned away from him. "I feel constantly empty and horribly bad for not being able to do what I love the most. It's the most horrible feeling. You wouldn't know what it feels like because you don't _need_ to earthbend. I do. And I can't keep going on just not doing it. Not doing so limits me in ways I can only hope you understand." I paused, the dream I had had a couple of hours ago. Heat slightly stained my cheeks and my throat felt tight, "I don't want to lose you." I paused, letting the words sink in before continuing in a stronger voice, "I propose a compromise."

He sighed heavily, filling his lungs with a gallon of air and then letting it out. "_I'm so sorry_." His voice was heavy with regret. He definitely wasn't lying to me this time. Guess my words got through to him.

I ignored his regretful saying and focused solely on what I was proposing. "Listen. I propose that we train every single night, until we go home, right here. It'll be just like the training we used to do except now we have a time limit. I need to get my daily dose of earthbending in and this is how I want to do. So deal with it." I crossed my arms, happy with my statement.

"Toph…I am sorry and I don't want to lose you either…but…what about your arm? It takes at least six weeks to heal a broken arm and it's only been two. I can't allow you to do such things in your state of health."

I laughed sarcastically. "_You_ can't allow me to do that? Excuse me, who's the teacher here Twinkle Toes? If memory serves, I was the earthbending teacher and _you_ were _my_ pupil. Just because you're the Avatar doesn't mean I'll ever let you forget it. If I say I'm going to earthbend, I'm going to earthbend. Heck, to sink you I barely even needed to use two fingers. And you can't even get yourself out. Pathetic." I stomped my foot to lift him up and tugged his hair to drag him the rest of the way out.

I smiled at how much pain he was in because of me. "Over the years I've improved my earthbending skills and I want to test out how strong I am even when I'm 'injured'. So, today we can't because I'm tired. So let's go back."

Twinkle Toes followed me all the while grumbling about his pained head and how his body hurt all over because of being pulled into the ground with such force.

"Quit your grumbling Twinkle Toes, you're being stupid. All you got out of that was a proposal and a couple of bruises."

He groaned. "I never said that I'd accept your proposal."

I stopped in my tracks and said in an ominous tone, "Are you sure about that?" I turned my heard around slowly. At the feel of his heartbeat speeding up I had to suppress a smile.

"You kno-o-ow what, it's not a b-bad i-d-dea." He cleared his tight throat.

I smiled devilishly at him. "That's a good boy." I kept walking.

After a couple of moments of silence, walking through the crisp desert night with the wind blowing slightly around us, Twinkle Toes spoke.

"Toph."

"Yo?" I moved a bug from my path, not really wanting to get any nasty goop on my precious toes.

"Why are you even here? I mean, why did you come?"

A snake rattled its rattle in warning and I shot it up in the air while I passed through. "Because Toto, Peppy freak, and Riley sent me to look for you."

"Peppy freak?" he asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Yep. That's Heidi's new nickname. Because she's too peppy and a bit of a freak."

Twinkles sighed. "I worried them didn't I?"

"Like hell."

"I'll apologize when I see them. I feel awful." I could feel him pouting behind me. Of course that was over as soon as the snake landed in front of him. It hissed and lunged at Twinkle Toes. His pulse suddenly quickened. Twinkle Toes squealed and airbended it out of existence. Poor snake.

I keeled over laughing and clutching my stomach.

"That was not funny Toph!" He yelled, breathless and terrified. His pulse was crazy.

I tried speaking. "Y-y-y-y-yes-s-s. I-I-It Wa-a-a-as!"

"It just popped up in front of me! How was I supposed to react!?"

He was so embarrassed!

"You sounded like-like-like a girl!" I couldn't breathe; I was laughing so hard. My lungs burned for air but I couldn't stop the convulsive laughter; it refused to fade

"It was right in front of me!" he adamantly defended himself.

I shook my hand at him. "Just-just shut up! Let me calm-calm down!" Another round of maniacal laughter overtook me as I remembered his squeal.

* * *

After I had calmed down we kept on walking, but I was soon growing bored of it. Not necessarily bored but…tired. My legs felt like lead with every step I took. I yawned after about twenty minutes of hiking. My shoulders were aching as the pain went from my forearm up. My arm was sort of burning and itching badly. When I tried to stick a finger in there to scratch it I always came up short. It was annoying me so badly I wanted to punch something. So I punched the closest thing, my favorite punching bag.

"Ow! Toph, what was that for?"

"I'm tired and sore. This is taking too long!"

He sighed. "Sit down Toph."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna give you a massage so you won't be so sore in the morning."

Though, in the night I hoped he wouldn't see it, I could just feel myself blushing. But I did what he asked because I could really use it and I wasn't one to pass up anything for free. And being sore in the morning just didn't seem like my cup of tea.

He created a small stool for me to sit down in. "Nice craftsmanship Twinkle Toes."

"Thank you," he chirped.

"Make it fast, though, I want to get to bed." It was getting hard to keep my eyes open.

"Got it, Sifu Toph."

I sat down. He brushed the hair out of his way, leaving me with a tingly sensation (I was sensitive when it came to touching my hair). His hands were unnaturally warm and I figured that he was using firebending to warm me up. He had such soft hands and touch that was deliberate and moved my flesh in a way that just made me melt.

I knew I was sounding so much like a girly-girl but I couldn't help it. He just made me feel so good as he moved in circles, back and forth. Just like I couldn't help sounding like a girly-girl, I couldn't help but to let out a little moan as my tense muscles softened and felt limp.

He stopped. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No…" I groaned. "Don't stop. Feels so good."

He began again, kneading my shoulders like dough. Oh! How good it felt.

"Toph? Can I ask you something?"

I nodded my head. So much in the bliss of relaxation that I didn't dare use my voice. His hands slowed down but didn't stop.

"Do you want to go to the dance with me? The one on Saturday that Ana and Heidi were talking about?"

I crinkled my brow. "Can't."

He stopped and I pouted. Why did he stop!? It was getting so good.

"Why?"

"I'll tell you if you promise to stop stopping." He resumed his massage. "I'm going with Toto."

He flinched and was about to stop but started up again. "Why?"

"Because he…asked. So I said yes." He really didn't need to know about the whole blackmailing thing. But when I got back I'd be sure to beat some answers out of Toto.

"Oh."

He was silent after that.

"Why don't you ask Ana or something?" I suggested. For some reason I didn't like the way the suggestion came out of my mouth. It didn't sound right.

"Sure…"

He focused more on his ministrations. Oh it was so good. So relaxing. So soothing. It was so soothing…so…soothing….

* * *

**A/N: **

**Well, here it is! Sorry it's a bit late! But at least it's out!**

**...don't kill me. **

**Anywho, I went recapped a bit of the last chapter because I wanted to get Toph's opinion in here, just in case anyone was wondering. Aww, did ya'll catch how Toph was a little jealous panda wanda? Okay, no idea where the Panda Wanda came from but I'd rather not question it. **

**My other story might not be out until Friday...I'll try to get it out earlier than that but homework does take priority...and I had to damn much of it today. It's like 10:30 p.m. and I'm tired as hell. Long day. Good day, but long. **

**R&R and tell me what you thought of this chapter...good...bad...nuetral...whatever. **

**love love love!**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	21. No one is jealous!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on… **

* * *

**Aang's Pov**

Fire can lead to disaster. But that's only if your heart is impure and you harbor evil intentions. Fire is truly light. It gives life. It provides stunning light.

It can also calm down tense muscles, which is why I had recommended that Toph have a massage. Waking up with a stiff neck is not a pleasant experience. I've learned that while traveling by myself throughout my world keeping the balance and what not.

Usually I'd sleep in the woods.

Now I know what you're thinking. I'm the Avatar. If I wished it I could stay and numerous hotels for free or eat for free and no one would care. But after a while of people droning on and on about meaningless things I decided that the forest would be a better place. It was peaceful but rich with the sounds of nature's creatures perched on trees, or settling down to sleep in their dens.

Appa enjoyed the forest too. Although he'd always find a way to steal away some hay for him to lie on instead of the forest floor.

I sighed softly. I missed Appa.

A slight moan escaped from Toph's lips. I stopped, fearing that I hurt her but also sort of uncomfortable at the small amount of distance between us.

"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" I asked, taking a small step back were she to unleash her fury.

She groaned, "No…don't stop. Feels so good."

I began kneading her shoulders again. I shrugged off the awkwardness I was feeling as I began to focus more on what I was doing. Moving my hand slowly but determined down her neck and back up again; I rubbed my thumb in circles over the smooth, firm skin of her shoulders in an attempt to loosen the muscle.

Toph seemed really relaxed. Maybe it was a good time to ask her if she wanted to go to the dance. Surely she wouldn't bite my head off now that she's so relaxed. I was almost giddy at the fact that I'd be seeing her dance but there was always that slim chance of her losing her temper to an out of the blue question.

But I _really_ wanted to see her dance so I looked the lion in the mouth.

"Toph? Can I ask you something?"

She nodded her head.

Now how could I ask her without getting my head torn off? Oh well, no use in worrying over it. I'll just get it over with.

"Do you want to go to the dance with me? The one on Saturday that Ana and Heidi were talking about?"

As blunt as only Toph can be she answered, "Can't."

I felt as though the lion had snapped its mouth shut while I was still inside. It wasn't a very good feeling.

"Why?" I asked. Though knowing her she'd say something like, 'Because dances are stupid Twinkle Toes' or something across those lines. Didn't make it hurt any less.

"I'll tell you if you promise to stop stopping." I hadn't noticed that I had stopped, probably too lost in my own thoughts. I resumed and she continued, "I'm going with Toto."

I flinched. Todd? She was going with Todd? I thought he liked Ana…well I know somebody liked somebody! Why was she going with him?

I noticed that I was slowing down and didn't want Toph to snap at me so I started back up again.

"Why?"

She hesitated. "Because he…asked. So I said yes."

"Oh."

I was being rejected...

By my best friend.

What happened during that whole week of her not speaking to me?! I hadn't noticed a significant change in Todd's attitude. But I did notice that during school she had been talking to him a lot more. A _lot_ more.

Maybe she had started developing some feelings for him. Hmmm…should I be happy for her? A part of me wants to be happy (a very small part) but the other part…is protective of Toph. She's my best friend. I wouldn't simply just hand her over to somebody if I didn't know that they'd make her happy.

But feelings for Todd? I mean, don't get me wrong. He's a nice guy, good looking and all, he's also tough and has a strong spirit…but he's Todd.

I gasped mentally. Does_ he make her happy?_

Why hadn't I apologized earlier!? I mentally kicked myself.

Before I could ask anything she began.

"Why don't you ask Ana or something?" she suggested with a strange tone.

What was she talking about…OH right! The dance. The one she was going with Todd with.

Hesitantly I answered, "Sure…"

The more I thought about it, the more I thought it was a good idea. Taking Ana, I mean. She needed to have a bit more fun in life. Ana's too worried about her mom or her friends or school to even begin to pay attention to herself. Maybe, that could be my first step towards getting home. Helping Ana.

I think she knew how to dance. She had that type of grace to her that would allow her to become a great dancer. Maybe I could teach her some of my moves. That's not such a half-bad idea.

"Maybe I will," I informed Toph, not at all hesitant with my answer this time.

Her breath had evened out and I was wondering if she was still awake.

"Toph?" I asked. "Toph." A pause. No answer. "Time to go back now I guess."

I picked her up in my arms, with slight trouble thanks to all the muscles she had developed due to earthbending and used the air to get me out of the canyon quickly. It wasn't that I was in a hurry to get back, just that I didn't want Toph to sleep out in the cold, especially in what she was wearing.

My face burned slightly but I ignored it and focused only on getting back.

* * *

When I returned I was greeted by Riley, Heidi, and Todd. Where was Ana? I looked up at the huge house. This was her house right?

"Hey Mr. Pipin-something or other, where've you been?" Riley asked with his hands around Heidi's waist. I frowned but realized that I had nothing to frown about. She wasn't mine. She wasn't Katara. So I managed a sort of smile.

"Just meditating. Oh, and it's Pipenpadalopsocopolis." I had almost forgotten what my last name was in this world. _I_ _should probably write it down somewhere_, I mused.

"What's up with Toph?"

I struggled to keep the smile on my face for him as I answered Todd.

"She fell asleep." I made my way past Todd towards Ana's room. Oh, so there was Ana. She was already asleep on the bed. I gently laid Toph down under the covers that Todd held up and made sure that she was comfortable before leaving.

"So I take it you two made up?"

I looked at Todd.

"Yeah. We did." I stopped in the hallways after closing Ana's door and turned to face Todd, Heidi and Riley. "Why did you guys send her after me all by herself? Were you not at all worried about her safety?" the question was meant for Todd but I hurled it at all of them.

"We _were_ worried Aang," Heidi answered. "But we also knew that you two really needed to work out whatever happened between you two privately without any interference."

"Plus," Riley continued. "Toph was the only one who knew where she was going and it didn't seem likely that she wanted to have followers with her."

Heidi pinched Riley's nose. "You just didn't want her to hit you if you _had_ followed her. Right?"

Riley smiled sheepishly at her.

"Well, I think it's high time for all of us to go to bed," I stretched, trying to relieve myself from the fatigue I felt.

"Good night," I told Heidi as Todd and I walked out the door, leaving Riley some privacy to say goodbye to Heidi.

* * *

Now that _him_ and I were alone I decided to bring up the subject that's been bothering me.

"Todd."

He stopped in front of his metal moving thing called a car.

"Yes?"

"Um…I'm not sure how to ask this." I scratched my head.

I didn't want to be rude but I felt that if I asked it'd come out the wrong way.

"Speak your mind before the night chills my bones down to the very core."

I hesitated from his words but continued on, "While Toph and I were talking…she told me something."

He looked at me curiously.

"Pray tell, what has she spoken?"

"She told me that you…"

"What did I do?" he sounded a bit worried. Did he actually do something to upset her? He seemed afraid that she might hit him or something. But maybe it was because I was being serious.

I took a deep breath. "You asked her to the dance on Saturday." There! It was finally out. Now I was anxious in hearing his answer.

He flipped his black hair out of his eyes. "Yes I did."

I didn't say anything; hoping that he'd elaborate.

"Are you jealous?"

It almost astonished me how blunt both him and Toph were. I tilted my head to the side.

What did he just say? Did he really just say what I think he said?

"Excuse me?"

"It's a simple question. Are you jealous?" he repeated.

My eyes tightened. "Jealous? Me? Of what?" I demanded, even though I knew what he was going to say.

"Of me asking Toph to the dance. I thought she was _just_ your friend," he hedged.

_Why did he have to ask me that_, I whined to myself. _She was _just_ a friend_.

"She _is_ just a friend! I'm not jealous!"

Riley stepped out of the house. "Who's jealous?"

"No one!" I yelled.

He raised his hands up in surrender. "Am I missing something here?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Aang, there's no need to be so serious about this," Todd warned. "You can't get jealous over just a friend. Right?" He looked at me oddly. As if he knew something, but whatever it was I had no idea.

I felt my face heat up. "I've known her for seven years."

"You're protective over her; I get it. But I can honestly feel some very intense hostility from you. To be honest I'm a little afraid for my life right now."

"You're freaking me out Aang," Riley added.

I gasped silently to myself.

How ashamed I was!

I liked Todd. I liked Riley.

I didn't want them to be scared of me or feel like I hated them. My head was just so jumbled up. I took a deep breath. Yeah, I felt a lot better now.

"I probably should have told you that I was planning to ask her before. Will you forgive me?" Todd asked slowly and cautiously.

I didn't want to stay mad. Of course, I had no reason for this madness in the first place. I clasped my hands in front of me and bowed to both; my head parallel to the floor.

"I sincerely apologize for my lack of self-control. Please, accept my deepest apologies."

"Get the hell up man!" Todd hissed. "We don't do that here. I don't want people to think that you're my slave or something. I mean, I respect that it's your culture's way of doing things but not here." I lifted up my head as he shivered.

"Ditto," Riley agreed. "Seeing you do that is just…I don't like it. It makes you look submissive."

I stood up and scratched the back of my head.

"I'm sorry," I chuckled. "I felt really bad though.

"Dude, its fine. But you don't have to do that here. This is America; land of the place where people _don't_ bow."

"And eat way too many cheeseburgers," Riley added. "Got it?" he asked me. What was a cheeseburger?

In spite of my question I answered, "Got it."

"So are we okay now?" Todd asked. He held out his hand as a gesture of friendship and, though a bit reluctant at first, I took it.

Riley jumped on over and patted us both awkwardly on the back. Todd and I looked at each other and glomped him to the ground.

"Get off of me you freaks!" he screamed.

Todd's voice got really high, "Oh but Riles, sweetheart. Don't you love me?"

I copied him. "Does this shirt make me look fat?"

He pushed both of us off and dusted himself off thoroughly before looking back at Ana's house.

"Oh, I think somebody's a little embarrassed," Todd teased in his girly voice.

"Does your girlfriend know about," I looked to both sides and stage whispered, "us Riles?" I asked him.

Riley, sufficiently embarrassed enough, did something that reminded me of Zuko: he hit both of us on the top of the head until I could feel a huge pulsating bump just rising up.

How I missed Zuko.

"You guys…are impossible," he stated.

Todd and I looked at each other and just giggled like little schoolgirls, but quickly stopped when we saw Riley trying to get in another punch.

Arms linked Todd and I skipped to the car, just to spite Riley.

Todd started the car and I jumped over the sound. It sounded aggressive. Like the drill that was created by Azula before the fire nation turned good. But his car wasn't being used to drill into a wall full of refugees, so I guess I didn't mind it that much.

I sighed quietly. Not that they could hear it over the sound of his music…what was it called…I believe Riley called it "folk" music. I don't know why it bothered him. I kinda liked it.

I resumed my thoughts.

It's not like he'd ever do something to hurt Toph. I don't think I've ever seen him hurt anyone. Maybe confuse a couple of people with his way of speaking but never actually hurt anybody. I'll trust him with Toph. Just for one day though.

We stopped in front of his house. I looked around for another metal car but found none.

"Is your mom still out for tonight on that business trip?" I asked Todd.

"Yeah, she'll be back next week."

I grimaced but then perked up, realizing that I had a couple of days to figure out how to get Todd closer to his mom. My second mission as an Avatar in this new world.

"That's cool." I pulled the door stick and pushed against it slightly but it wouldn't budge. I tried again but the thing kept making this insufferable clicky noise when I pulled the door stick back and forth. It wouldn't open. I grabbed the handle, propped my foot against the floor, and pushed.

"Aang," Todd deadpanned. "It's still locked."

I looked up at him. "Oh…" I scratched my head. "My bad."

* * *

**A/N:**

**I apologize for not getting this chapter out sooner than when it was written. I had lost my flash drive and so I couldn't write anything. But then I found it and I swear I could hear choir angels sing as my prized possession was back with me. **

**But then I got writer's block. I was thinking of adding on to this chapter but I'll just make a next one where Toph gets her answers. **

**I captured a roly-poly just now. Hehehe. **

**Anywho, it is 2:16 am and I'm finally updating because I can't sleep. I'm writing the other chapter as soon as this is posted so it should be up soon. But things don't always work out the way we want them too. Well…the way I want them too. **

**Happy…Hey! It's Thanksgiving! Alright. I seriously just looked at the calendar and was all like…whoa. (I was going to say Happy Thanksgiving week but now there's no need for the 'week')**

**Love Lola of the Peaches **

**=]**

Strength thy name is woman


	22. Strength, Thy Name Is Woman

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's POV**

I woke up in a foul mood. I felt like I'd been doing that a lot lately. But I had a reason. The reason was…none other than our host, Todd.

As Ana drove me to school as she did everyday I had been contemplating something: How was I going to get Todd alone to yell at him and possibly punch him for blackmailing me to go to the dance with him? More importantly, why would he?

"Toph? Is something wrong? You're like murdering my radio."

For the past thirty minutes I had been punching buttons, trying to get a decent…um…what was it again?–a stat-on? Well, whatever. I was trying to get some decent music playing that would calm me down, but everything I clicked on played slow music. That's not what I want.

"Ana I'm trying to find that rad station you were telling me goes great with my personality."

Press. Press. PRESS!

Ana smacked my hand. "Stop it! You're hurting Isabelle."

An awkward silence passed.

"Did you just call…the radio...Isabelle?"

Silence and a hesitant, "What? Is that such a bad thing?"

…

"You named a box Isabelle." I scratched my head and played with my bangs. "Why?"

"Because…well, I don't rightly know. Todd and I had a weird argument about it and it ended up with me calling it Isabelle and Todd naming it Harry. It was a strange birthday."

I rolled my eyes. "I bet it was."

"Anyways, why must you be so mean to Isabelle?"

I furrowed my brow.

"I'm just in a bad mood. The cast and all."

"Hmm…It's really getting on your nerves isn't it?"

I held it up. "No duh!"

With a jolt the car stopped, signaling that we were at the mind-numbing, lackluster building called school.

I sighed.

School in this age was just so _boring_. I couldn't do anything. Back in my world I was like a Goddess who taught and disciplined, unlike most of these "teachers" – or so they call them – who did nothing but talk and talk and talk…and talk. I'm getting sleepy eyed just thinking about it. Back in the Fire Nation I had my own training facility. And on occasion I would travel to Earth Kingdom and teach a couple of classes on the side. But only after my soldiers graduated would that happen. Then I'd have three months of vacation to do whatever I wanted.

But I never really wanted to take a break. I loved teaching. Twinkle Toes taught me that.

I'd never tell him that he inspired me but I still silently appreciate it.

Teaching though, was something I think I could get into. I hadn't told Hothead yet, but I had actually gotten a position from the Earth King to become a Sensei at the biggest school in the earth kingdom, Byakko Gakko. But I had turned them down and asked to teach smaller schools around the country. When they had asked why I still hadn't given them an answer. The Earth King didn't care because he knew that I probably had a good reason but his new adviser Chen Lee – a nice guy, bit of a worry wart, but a really good guy – was very curious about why I didn't want to teach at the best school in the Earth kingdom.

Truth was that on my way there to meet up with the King and take a tour around the facilities I had met up with this little girl, Chan Juan, who was deep in the forest, practicing earthbending. I had startled her as she was lifting a medium sized rock and she about dropped it on her head but I pushed it away with a flick of my fingers. When she got closer to me – to thank me – she saw that my eyes were blind. Immediately it was like a flip on the personality switch. She went from nice to fan-girl. Chan Juan pulled me towards her small village where only eight out of 37 people were earthbenders.

She had told me that many gangs would travel through their land and steal from them. And with so little earthbenders with very little experience they couldn't protect their loved ones. It was a nice dream she had: to become strong enough to take on anyone who hurt the ones she loved, but she needed a healthy dose of reality.

Reality was: She was no twinkle Toes who could learn it in a few weeks. She'd have to train for a lot and I mean _a lot_ of years before she was ready to be taking on anyone without a care in the world. But…I wanted to believe in Chan Juan. I really believed that she could be one of the best. Certainly not as good as me, but I'd get her there. So I delayed myself for a month and a half to start a small school to teach them all the basics and advanced skill. School started from whenever I woke up to whenever I wanted to go to sleep. Clocks had no meaning to me; I went by my own time.

I worked those kids till they were panting for breath and their hands were callused beyond repair. But they never faltered on their determination. They wanted to learn how to protect everyone and that's what I was teaching them. I was happy there. They were happy to have me. And when gangs would come near sometimes I'd take my students out to show them what it was like in a battle situation. What I wasn't expecting was that a couple of the gangs would run away in sheer fright as they got a good look at me.

They'd yell: "It's the Blind Bandit! Fall back. No, that means run away don't fall over just run away!"

And they'd run away with their tails between their legs. When this first happened the kids were just staring at me as I laughed. When did I get so popular?

Oh, but I'm getting off track.

The point was that I was missing my home again. My life. I missed teaching. Twinkle Toes did need to be refined on the finer points of earthbending but I really couldn't teach him anything he couldn't figure out on his own. When could we go back?

Something bumped my shoulder.

"What do you want Toto?"

Rhetorically he asked, "How does she always know?" To me he said, "Ana's been thinking you're a little moody this morning, as you always have been since you've gotten that nuisance of a cast."

"Well, I don't like being restricted of my movements."

I sidestepped a hoard of kids who were charging past me to get to class. It's like they were excited about sitting on their butts for hours and listen to a sort of interesting but not really monologue made by an adult. How strange they were in this world.

"The wildflower grows in abundance in nature, surrounded by its family, but taken into captivity, and it will bloom and die shortly afterwards."

I punched his shoulder. "You are so morbid sometimes."

"So I've been told."

"You do realize that I'm going to kill you later right?"

He sighed. "Expected it. Can I have an exact time of death?"

I crossed my arms. "Time means nothing to me."

"One of the many wonders of being blind. Time is limitless."

"No. It's just pure laziness." I gave him a smirk.

We both walked into the classroom of some subject and sat down next to each other in the back.

"Ah. I should have been able to know that but sadly I did not perceive any notion of lethargy from your person."

I shook my head. He was so strange but he made me just want to forget my anger for a second and just laugh with him. But of course I couldn't forgive him until he was ten feet underground.

* * *

After school was over Todd offered to drive me home later, said he had something to show me – which I thought was a little weird because I couldn't see anything. But I didn't say anything, surely he had a reason.

Ana had called him out on it but otherwise let me go. I felt like she was mothering me too much.

"So what do you want?" I asked Toto as he drove off with me in the car.

"Ah my dear, could I be so daring as to ask a maiden to wait one everlasting moment for me to come up with a decent clarification?"

I punched him. "Who are you calling a maiden and where are we going? I hate surprises."

"Oh, do you now?"

I didn't answer.

"Alrighty then. We are heading to a special place."

I crinkled my eyebrows.

"Why?"

"It's a place that can make you think twice about your actions and make you reflect on the past. It's a nice place."

I turned my head and looked at him, exasperated. "Doesn't matter where we are I'll kick your butt anyways."

He chuckled nervously.

* * *

It didn't feel like he took me very far. Maybe something like an hour it took to reach our destination. Toto wanted me to follow him and I had to keep my chuckles to myself.

The dog leading the girl.

Ha. Just like the play.

Okay, maybe it wasn't that funny.

I followed Toto through the heated street, wanting to kick him dead so badly. In fact, I think I had been holding in my anger long enough.

"Why?" I asked hoping that he'd give me some time to explain so that he wouldn't ask that annoying question.

"Why what?"

Ah, there it was. I moved ahead of him and swiftly turned around. I balled my hand into a fist and punched his jaw. With my foot I kicked his gut.

"Why were you blackmailing me to go to the dance with you? It would've been so much easier to just ask."

He spit the bit of blood that had gathered in his mouth. How I despised the smell of blood. But for some reason it did give me a bit of satisfaction knowing that I made him bleed. Irony; what can you do?

"So what's your excuse? I don't like being used."

I pulled back my fist, rearing for another go but just as I was to make contact with his bruised face his hand enclosed around my fist. Undeterred, I put my back against his front and rammed my elbow into his side, ignoring the slight pain it caused. He grunted and tried to run away, but I kept at his heels.

A chill entered my spine and made me stop in my tracks. This strange feeling came over me and I wondered if I had entered another world. Or my world.

But this had a distinctive feeling, different from that of my homeland.

A hiss interrupted my thinking.

"What is this place?" I asked him. It was supposed to be 95 degrees outside but on the inside I felt freezing.

This place that he had taken me too didn't have a good feeling, but it wasn't a bad one either. I was probably a bit more sensitive to these things – having relied on my senses since birth – but maybe it wasn't just me.

"This place is an Indian burial ground. It's said to be sacred land."

I gulped. Oh, it definitely felt sacred.

"What does it feel like to you?"

He took a while to answer and I occupied myself listening to his even breathing. Wasn't I beating him up before? Oh, but darn it he was right. In this sacred ground I didn't want to even touch him. I just wanted to get out of here as fast as I could, back to Ana's house where nothing felt creepy.

"To me…it feels sort of heavy. Like the air is filled with regret. It makes me remember some things that I've done that I'm not so proud of. That's why I come here. When I leave, I always want to do better."

I joined him as he sat down, right beside him. Played with the hem of my shirt, I kept my hands occupied not wanting to touch this sacred earth. No matter how uncomfortable I was feeling, I could tell that Toto's mood was taking a turn for the worse.

"What have you done that makes you like this?" I asked, truly curious.

"Well…it's not always what I _have_ done but what I haven't done."

I closed my blind eyes, feeling my surroundings. A ball bounced, not that far away. Cars went by and children played. Mothers kept watch over their children while gossiping, their screams of joy or laughter vibrating throughout their bodies. And fathers were doing something in the yard or under one of those metal monsters. Life went on there while here, on this sacred land, time seemed to stand still.

"That's stupid. Why would you regret what you haven't done? If you haven't done it then go out and do it already instead of moping around and waiting for the answer to come to you in a creepy place. Go and find the answer yourself. Trust me, it's a lot more satisfying."

He sighed. "How do you know? What if: what you wanted to do could mostly likely break a very special bond and you couldn't risk it?"

"Then you're a coward."

He nudged my shoulder. "How do you know?" he repeated.

Nostalgia filled me. "Because there was a time that I had to risk everything I had known…to gain everything I hadn't." I smiled a private smile. "I ran away from home once, well, actually a lot of times before _that_ time. Don't get me wrong, I like my parents – but they were just so controlling and overbearing. There had to be some way to free myself from this life. And there was. I…well…um…" okay, this is difficult. I had to make up a lie. But what? Wait…I got it. "Well, Twinkle Toes and the monks did a lot of traveling. We had met in an underground fighting ring and he offered–"

"Whoa! Underground fighting ring? Who was fighting?"

I flexed my arm. "Who do you think?"

Suddenly he grabbed my shoulders and pivoted himself to face me. "What the hell is wrong with you? You could've died! What were you thinking? _Were_ you even thinking?" he yelled in my face, shattering the silence of the burial ground.

I pushed him away. "Look, Toto. I was the champion. I've taken on people three times your size and won without a single scratch on my pretty little face. Besides it's in the past. It's not worth worrying over."

"Does Ana know?" he asked worriedly.

I scoffed. "As if I'd tell her. Does it look like I want to kill the person who feeds me?"

He let out a breath I hadn't realized he had been holding in. "Thank God."

"No, thank _me_. And stop interrupting." I smacked the back of his head as he scooted back into his place in silence. "As I was saying we met in an underground fighting ring and after my match he told me he had been looking for a teacher. To, you know, teach him some fighting skills."

"Why would he want to learn how to fight? I can't imagine sweet, innocent Aang fighting."

I turned my head to smile privately to myself. "Oh, he doesn't like to fight. But if he has to he can. And in this particular case, a lot of people were counting on him to fight." Understatement, much?

"Who was his opponent?"

"Um…this guy was sort of like a bully. If Twinkle toes could beat him then he'd leave everyone alone." Yeah, all the people from the four nations were counting on him. But did he let them down? Almost, but he pulled through in the end.

I heard scratching. "Er…well, that seems…kind of strange."

"Well I'm sorry that I'm not a good story teller. I'm old, my memory's fading."

His hands ruffled my hair. "You're too cute."

I smacked it away. "Is that why you wanted me to go with you to the stupid dance?"

He giggled sheepishly. "Well…there's a reason for that."

"Well, spit it out!" I yelled.

"It's…embarrassing."

With a look of incredulity I stared him down for a good five minutes. A prick on the back of my neck told me that he was staring me down too. But we both knew who would win.

"Okay, okay stop it. You're freaking me out! I'll tell you." he yelled.

I laughed maniacally. "So speak, oh, stupid doggy."

He sighed. "Well…I kinda, maybe, sort of, like…Ana."

I grunted in exasperation. "No duh. It's really not that hard to figure out. The only way someone couldn't have known that was if you were a complete knucklehead, like Ana. So why did you ask me if you wanted to go with Ana?"

His heart was beating really fast due to embarrassment. I decided not to laugh for his sake. All I wanted was to know was why he had asked me instead of his _love_?

"Well…I thought you'd understand if I told you that I liked her but obviously I'm going to have to elaborate." I punched his arm. "Okay, so I didn't ask her because it was so obvious that she wanted to go with Aang. She has a crush on him," the last part was said with a pained whisper.

"Aw, you baby. Unrequited love." I stuck a finger in my mouth. "Shoot me now. Look at you, trying to be all gallant and whatnot. You're a self-sacrificer and you'll most likely die an early age because of it. You should have just asked her. It would've saved me a lot of trouble."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. But I couldn't. She doesn't want me…she wants Aang. Damn his foreignness. They always get the girls."

"Right…." So Ana liked Aang. She couldn't like him. If she did she'd only end up getting hurt. Twinkle Toes and I had to leave and we couldn't take her with us.

That was the first thought that came to my head. But it was soon followed by another. This wasn't a thought per se, but a feeling. One that sped up my adrenaline and made me want to hurt somebody but cry at the same time. It twisted in my stomach and made me feel so weird.

"Can we get off of all these dead people? It's freaking me out."

"Of course, 'tis time I took thyself home."

He opened the door to the metal monster and helped me in before getting into the other side.

As soon as he was inside I punched him twice with force, but not enough to actually break his arm – though that was an option.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Right in his ear I yelled, "That was for using me because you're too pathetic to admit your feelings!" I slumped back into my seat and crossed my arms.

"Strength thy name is woman," he said. Without another word he drove off.

I think I'm beginning to understand Todd…just a little better now. Maybe if I do I won't want to hurt him as much…nah. I giggled quietly to myself beside this strangely sensitive–tough talking guy.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Byakko Gakko is translation for (hopefully the right translation) White Tiger School. **

**Chan Juan, "moon; graceful; ladylike". I thought it was sort of like the antonym to earthbending…idk. I liked the name too. **

**Chen, "great; vast", Lee "Plum". So Chen Lee is a Great Vast Plum. Hehe. **

**So there's that one. I had to finish working this one out before I could get to the other story. But hopefully the other story will be completed soon. Sorry for the weight. Hope it was worth it. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	23. Shopping With the Avatar

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's POV**

I looked around, feeling completely and utterly lost. Sure, I've been shopping before with the whole gang before (not the old one but the new one) and I had enjoyed myself. But I still felt like such a stranger. Racks and stacks of "modern clothing" still intimidated me. On things that intimidated me, malls would be on the top of the list right behind Toph. As a white shirt was being placed against my chest "modern clothing" was really pushing the limits.

"C'mon Aang, work with me," Skeeter complained. I don't know what he was complaining about though; I stood straight and held my arms out like he said. "You look like a mannequin," he scolded. "Relax, just let it flow." He moved his arms in a wave motion and signaled for Todd and Riley to follow as well. But when I did they laughed at me. "You look like a constipated penguin," he said.

I laughed too, just imagining a constipated penguin walking on ice in the South Pole, where the southern water tribe was. That was where I first saw a penguin since I woke up. It was where I first saw Katara. If I think back now on that day I can clearly remember her magnificent blue orbs that shined and rippled like the ocean. Another thing I remember was her failed attempts to stand up for me. When Sokka was paranoid towards…well, he seemed to _always_ be paranoid but I mean to me, she was the one who stood up for me. She was the first one to believe in me. That was the first time I thought that she'd be a really good friend to have.

I just never knew how tough she had it.

I got my first clue when we went penguin sledding. We were laughing and having so much fun riding on those penguins and slicing through the snow like we were invincible. She turned to me and said, "I haven't done this since I was a kid!"

I yelled back, "You still are a kid." I was so naïve back then. When I was introduced to the village I remember being somewhat alarmed that there were less than 20 people in the entire village. But I carelessly tossed away the thought, thinking that maybe the rest of the tribe was out hunting. I didn't know anything about the war.

"Does this jacket look okay?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked Riley over. "You look great," I said not really looking at him.

He frowned at me. "No, I don't think it goes with the pants." He put the jacket back on the rack.

Todd and Skeeter stared at him for a while and had to hold back their laughter with their hands, but they were failing miserably. Riley glared daggers at them and I scooted away from them, not wanting to be at the end of Riley's glare.

"And you say I sound like a girl," Todd strained to say, holding back the laughter as best he could.

Riley's fist clenched. "Well if I don't match Heidi will annoy me to no end."

Todd sobered up slowly, "True. But honestly, could you sound any more like a maiden in distress?"

I had drifted back to my thoughts while their little spat went on.

Back before I was announced the Avatar everything was so simple. They only dilemma I really faced was what new game I would play with my friends that day. I had no qualms about what happened in the world. The Southern Air Temple _was_ my world.

Now, I had a bigger world. Two of them in fact. One extended well past my imagination. Never, in my 100 plus years alive, would I have ever thought that I could have gone forward in time – who knows how many years! If I thought about it too much though I'd get a little too confused and wouldn't be able to perform my new duties in this world. Duties that I had finally taken up for the good of everyone else. If I had the power to change something, why not?

That's why I had agreed to go shopping with the guys. A couple of days had passed since Heidi had announced that we were all going to the dance and the guys had insisted on shopping just to have something to do. Not that I had much of a choice really. If I hadn't agreed they would've dragged me here eventually. But I was also here to try to found out a little more about these guys. If Toph and I ever wanted to go back to our world then I had to help these people, just like Avatar Roku instructed.

"Riley?" I asked.

He was looking through shirts and answered without looking. "Yeah?"

I craned my neck in search of Todd and Skeeter but I couldn't find them. Maybe they went someplace private to laugh. I turned back to Riley but he was gone. He had moved from the shirts to the ties.

Walking towards him, I asked, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"You already did but I think you're about to follow up with another one. Shoot." He held different ties in his hand and put them against his chest.

Shoot? Was I supposed to kill him? Or shoot the ties? I shook my head and got back to the question in mind. "Well, you have a lot of problems with your dad right?"

He didn't falter and his face showed no emotion besides judging his own look in the mirror. "Yep." His tone seemed normal as well.

"Why?"

He held up two ties in my face. "Which one looks better?"

I picked the brightest one. He held it up with a thoughtful look before he set down the dark one.

"So, why do you have problems with him?"

He sighed. "He just doesn't understand me. I mean…I guess deep down – and I'm talking deep like a black hole – he cares about me. Because of that he's more prone to being really harsh on me. I'm the eldest and there's always pressure on the older kids, right?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't have any siblings. But I've always wished for some. Not that it could happen, I mean I don't know who my parents are and whoever they were they're gone now."

Blond eyebrows furrowed. "I know you don't mean to be but you can be kind of depressing you know? And you sound _cheerful_ while doing it."

I moved back in surprise. "Really? I never noticed."

"It's not easy to detect. I mean, you sound cheerful but the subjects that you sometimes talk about are ones that bring tears to the eyes and tug at the heartstrings." We were looking at shirts again and he thumbed through the stack, not really seeing it. "I kind of admire that about you."

"You admire my depression?" I asked, gravely perplexed.

To my surprise he laughed.

He shook his head, blond hair swaying with the movement. "No. No, Aang. Not at all. But I admire just how strong you are even when talking about subjects like that."

I scratched my head and pulled on strands of my hair to get them back in place. "But earlier when I asked about your dad you didn't seem concerned."

"I hate talking about him because then I get so angry that I want to kill something." That comment reminded me of Zuko. He was a hot head like Riley. Or rather, Riley was like him. "But if I act like I don't care it just makes it an easier pain to bear." He paused and when he looked at me his face was lit up with a smile. "That sounded like some cool lyrics, man."

I laughed. "Heidi's been rubbing off on you."

"Ugh…gross." He smiled as he said it so I hope that meant that it was a joke. If it wasn't well…I just didn't comment on it.

"Do you think," I asked as he looked through a couple of weird hats. Didn't they have any _dou li_? "that you'll ever be able to repair your relationship with your dad?"

Did they not have _any_ conical straw hats? I searched around the store seeing none as Riley answered.

That question had him going on a tirade, "No…as long as he doesn't change then my feelings towards him won't change either. I'm done trying to pacify him for his wrong doings. I'm done trying to be his perfect son. I'm going to get my own house and finally get out from under his thumb, then I am going to –" he ended his tirade short. Did faces really turn that red?

"Then what are you going to do?" I asked, fully interested in his plan.

But he turned away from me, his face partially hidden underneath his blond head. "Nothing," he muttered. He paid for his items with a piece of green paper and we left the store.

"C'mon, what are you going to do? What are you going to do?" I pestered him. I just wanted to know what his plans were so I could help him out. But he just kept turning away from me and muttering angrily at himself. "Riley, please tell me. Please!"

He turned towards me, his face irate. "No I will not tell you because it's embarrassing!"

Behind me a small child cried in surprise and I could see around us that people were shocked. I pouted. Riley grew shocked and embarrassed at all the glares directed at him. Typical Zuko outburst.

"Uh, no. Wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." He scrambled for an excuse as I stared at him. "I didn't mean it, man. I'm sorry."

I shook my head and blushed a bit at my actions. "No. I shouldn't have bothered you with questions. I just had to…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so persistent."

He dismissed me with a wave, "Whatever man, let's just go find Skeeter and Todd and get out here. The stares are getting creepier," he openly shivered and quickly walked away with his head low.

I copied his stance, a bit ashamed at not being able to contain my piqued interest in his life. I just thought that if I pestered him long enough that I'd get a satisfactory answer. You know, to help him with his problem so that Toph and I would be that much closer to getting home.

But it didn't really seem like he had that much of a problem like I had first thought so. He seemed to have his whole life figured out…except for one thing. That one thing that he had left out of his tirade. He said that it was embarrassing. How so?

I knew I had to figure it out. But I had to be careful not to get ahead of myself next time and take it slowly. To deal with him, I had to act with tact. I mean, Riley wasn't really one for words and today is probably the most I've heard out of him, so I had to be careful. I made a mental note to myself to ask him about his goals for the future. Maybe if I caught him off guard then I'd be able to get it out of him.

We went looking for our friends but I was separated from Riley when I stopped at a snack food place. I didn't know how to use money in this time but it was probably the same as using money in my world but one would never know_. I'll ask the nice lady behind the counter. _

"Excuse me," I asked politely.

"Watcha want honey?" She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her face.

I looked around for this Honey. People looked at me and the stand but they weren't really looking at the lady. They didn't acknowledge her.

"Me?" I asked.

"You the only one standin' right there," she answered back.

I smiled and showed her my money. "I'd like to buy something to eat."

She raised a black eyebrow. "We have pretzels, popcorn, candy, soda…dippin' dots. Take your pick."

I took out a piece of green paper that Todd had given me earlier because he didn't like the number on it. He said it was too even.

"What can I buy with this?"

She looked at it. "A candy bar."

"Well…. What's your favorite?" I asked her.

She wrinkled her brow. "My favorite what?"

"Candy bar. What's your favorite candy bar? I'll take that one."

She stared at me for a while and made me feel uneasy. She handed me a bag that seemed filled with little bits of candy. "You are one strange kid, you know that?" she took my money and handed me back coins.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I seem to get that a lot. Well it was nice meeting you…"

"Adele, the name's Adele."

I stuck out my hand. "I'm Aang. It was nice meeting you, Adele. Hope I see you again. You seem nice." She shook my hand.

She smiled ruefully. "And you seem too nice for your own good." She handed me back a couple of pieces of paper. "Don't let nobody play you for a fool, got that Jackie Chan?"

I cocked my head to the side. "My name's Aang."

She laughed.

"Alright Aang, get out of line I got other customers to attend to." She waved good bye as she helped another customer.

As soon as I was out of line I was grabbed by the arm. "Where's Riley, Aang?"

It was Skeeter.

"He's…" I looked in front of me but I didn't see him. Oops. "I think I lost him." Wait a second. Skeeters alone with me. Yay. "Hey Skeeter!"

He jumped at my exclamation. "Ah! What you want boy? 'Bout to give me a heart attack." He rubbed his chest to punctuate his point.

Apologetically, I smiled. "I was wondering." How to phrase this? "Why do you pull pranks?"

He looked up thoughtfully. "It's fun."

"Is that it? Aren't you starving for attention?"

Skeeter raised an eyebrow incredulously. "How would I be 'starving for attention' China man?"

"Well, when people play pranks on others it's mostly to get others to notice that person. Isn't it?"

Skeeter smiled. "Nope. The fact is plain and simple that I like to catch others by surprise. It's funny when people scream their heads off. I've made a couple cry."

I frowned. "And you don't feel bad about that?"

He shook his head. "Nah. But if you really want to get mushy with it, then I guess you could say that I like pranking because it's the only time I get to spend with my brother."

"Is your brother always busy?" I asked carefully.

"Yeah. He fixes up computers and TV's. That how he pays for most of the stuff we have."

"What about your parents?"

"My mother left when I was little so I don't really remember her. My dad was working hard for us to have what we needed. He worked at a law firm as a lawyer. He was good at it too, made a lot of money. But on his way to work one day he ended up in a car accident. Died on impact. So now it's me and my brother."

I looked down. "I'm sorry."

"It's depressing, I know. But what can I do? I have everything I could ever need right here." He put an arm around my shoulders. "I got great friends, a nice brother and good memories. All I need now is a girlfriend." He moved my head towards his and whispered, "Who was that girl you were talking to?"

"Adele?"

He smiled and put his arms on the back of his head. "Yeah, I've seen her at school"– so that's why she looked so familiar –"but she's always too busy reading to make conversation. Honestly, I don't know why girls need to read so much? Novels don't prepare you for real life." That last sentenced savored of bitterness.

I shrugged. "Maybe she does it for fun."

He snorted and adjusted his red headband. "I'll put her on Maybe."

I smiled secretly to myself. A plan had formed in my mind and I thought it was a pretty good one. "I bet…" I paused to see if caught his attention. I did. "I bet that you couldn't get her to go to the dance with you."

He smirked at me. "Have you seen me? Who wouldn't want a piece of this stud muffin?" He winked at this group of girls passing by and they hurriedly walked away.

"Right. You seem like such a catch." I picked up my pace, spotting Riley staring at jewelry and Todd looking extremely bored.

"Alright man." Skeeter quickly caught up to me. "If I win you have to do something embarrassing. Anything I choose."

"Fair enough. If I win…you get a cute date."

His eyebrows furrowed as he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Wait a minute that's it? If I win then I win but if you win then I still win. What's up with that?"

I smiled. "Secret."

Skeeter's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of the front of his head. "Is this Adele chick crazy? Is she committed? Did she kill someone? What's the catch?"

I did a double take at his accusations. "She seemed nice to me. No need to act all paranoid."

"I'm watching you…" he motioned towards his eyes then to mine.


	24. My Twinkle Toes?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's POV**

It was 7:00 when we got back home. Riley had bought a new suit and so did Todd. I was going to use one of Skeeter's old suits; he said he had a lot of them. We were all set for the dance so we decided to drop by and check in on the girls.

Over all, I think today was a good day. I had learned a lot more about my new friends and I liked them more and more.

Suddenly I wasn't so happy anymore.

Yes, I had learned a lot. I learned that Skeeter wanted a girlfriend, Riley had some unmentioned problem, and Todd had problems with his mom. I had tried to fix the latter earlier this week. But as soon as Todd's mother came home on Tuesday she left that night saying she had a business meeting that would take three more days. So much for solving that problem. But I wouldn't give up.

I sighed. The more time I spent with these guys the more the thought of leaving seemed really sad. Did I not want to leave? I shook my head. No, I had to leave. This wasn't my world. I couldn't just take up residence for free, which I seemed to be doing. I'd have to repay these guys back somehow. But I couldn't have any regrets. If I did I wouldn't be myself.

A push on the shoulder jolted me back into reality. "Aang, what's up? You're totally spacing out," Skeeter told me.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. Just thinking about some things in the past. Wondering about my future."

"Let it go."

I gave him a confused look. "Let what go?"

"The past, man. The past is the past. Ain't nothing in this world you can do to change it. But you can change how you want it to turn out later on in life by living in the present. Without the present, you wouldn't have no future would you?"

Todd, Riley and I just stared at him.

"That," Riley stated, "was profound. If it wasn't spoken like _you_ then I think it could have been a philosophical piece."

Skeeter smiled wide, his white teeth gleaming against his dark skin. "Why, I thank thee, peasant men!"

No matter how weird it was to hear that coming out of his mouth, I was glad that he said those words. I've been thinking too much about the past. These people weren't from my time. Though they resembled my friends...they weren't Katara, Sokka, Zuko, former Fire Lord Ozai, or anything like that. They were their own people. I knew that, but I still had a bit of a hard time believing it.

Especially when it came to Heidi and Riley. When I saw them together there was a nasty feeling creeping into my veins that I quickly dismissed upon remembering where I was. Those feelings were dangerous and if I wasn't careful they'd certainly come to bite me in the butt one day.

Looking at Skeeter, I realized something. Skeeter reminded me a bit of Sokka. To me, Sokka was a big brother and a good friend. I was starting to feel the same about Skeeter. And to top it off they were both paranoid.

A pale hand waved in front of my face.

"Earth to Twinkle Toes," Toph said loudly. For my ears only she whispered, "Are we going to go train anytime soon?"

Her breath tickled my ear. "Yeah," I whispered back. "We're going for a walk, okay guys?" I said out loud so as not to worry our hosts with our absence.

No one was listening as Ana and Heidi were laughing as Skeeter and Todd retold elements of our day, much to the annoyance of Riley. Silently Toph and I slipped out of the house and raced each other towards the canyon.

I was the first to reach the bottom but also the first to be launched in the air. That was our signal to commence fighting…and also the signal for Toph's annoyance at my win. When I landed lightly, Toph – now accustomed to my soft footsteps – hurled boulder after boulder at me. I created a triangle shaped structure; similar to the one I had witnessed Toph use against Xin Fu. When she was preparing for another attack, I tapped the wedges with my fingertips and hurled them back at her. She had grabbed one to throw into the second one, effectively breaking them and used her fist on the third one.

Her arms close to her body, she attached a suit of rock armor to herself. She slid across the floor of the canyon with ease. Punching the air, she was able to throw chunks of her armor at me. I dodged some of them and redirected the course of some other big ones but I missed one. It was a tiny rock, no bigger than the palm of my hand that had been in the shadows of one of the larger rocks and gave me no time to redirect it with only earthbending. It was that small mistake that sent me flying backwards towards the cold waterfall.

Because no matter how hot it was during the day, the water was always cold. It was something that I considered – for these past few days anyways – to be a curse and a blessing. A curse because it shocked my body as soon as I passed through it. And a blessing because it woke me up.

"Losing your touch, Avatar?" she taunted in my direction as I swam to the edge. "I thought I taught you to listen to the earth? I can't believe you didn't even _see_ that?"

I pulled myself up to dry off, but Toph had plans of her own. As soon as I touched the earth, Toph encased my hands in hard rock. I was about to break out and retreat back into the water but I was pulled by the earthbending cuffs and dragged all over the floor.

Her laughter ringed in my ear. Oh, she was going to get it now. I dug my feet into the earth to speed down, I cried out as her cuffs were broken. Quickly, not wanting to give her the advantage, I stood up and took my horse stance. She was in her praying mantis style stance and was waiting for me to make a move.

"I went easy on you," I lied. I knew she could tell but I had to save some of my dignity.

She laughed at the blatant excuse. "Sure you did, and I'm a crappy earthbender."

"So you finally admit it?"

Her laughter cut short. I hit a nerve. I knew saying that would trigger a sort of response from her, I just didn't expect to by so terrified afterwards. Immediately I could feel the effects of the cold water against my skin. Shivering, but unwilling to let down my guard, I stood my ground – no matter how delicate it was right now.

"Excuse me," she spoke sardonically. "Who's the one who stalked me so that I could become his teacher? Can you answer that…Twinkle Toes?"

I paled but spoke strongly, "I was obviously high off cactus juice at the time. I didn't know what I was thinking. I mean, _I was_ the one who knocked the blind bandit out of the ring…right, Tophy?"

She moved her leg towards me, distracted by my words and wanting to do another direct attack. I closed my hands and stopped her movements. Toph looked down, knowing she couldn't see but knowing no other way to make sense of the situation.

"You little…" she trailed off as she admired my handiwork personally. "You were distracting me weren't you?" To my surprise she laughed out loud, seemingly clear of worries. "When did you get so smart?" she asked.

I relaxed my stance. My breathing was hard, due to blood pumping in my system from the run here and then the fight. I had taken a big risk in trying to capture my former teacher by distracting her, because if I was unsuccessful she'd unleash earthbending at me demon style. Honestly, I didn't even think I could do it, but I tried. These matches between us were to improve our skills. To Toph, that meant developing new techniques, improving old ones, or refining her knowledge of old and new ones. She didn't think about me as she should have been.

To her, I should have been a new enemy with an unknown power. But we both knew each other well and there was probably nothing new to learn from these matches. So instead of refining skills, I focused on trying to find innovative ways to take her down.

"I admit," she said, "that was good." That smile on her face couldn't be anything good. It was predatory and I was her prey. "But…did you really think I'd fall for that?" Her uninjured arm tensed signaling that she was doing something with her hand that was supposedly sheathed in my trap.

I found my entire body surrounded by small sand particles that formed a coil around me. The coils of sand began spinning around me and before I could jump out they tightened around me and soon hardened into rock. When did she do that?

She cackled, just so she could rub it in my face, as she broke free of her trap. "It was a good idea to try and distract me, but you should have known that in battle – practice or otherwise – I don't lose focus…all the times."

I smiled. "You've been practicing with sand haven't you, over the years?"

She shrugged and released her hold on me, her victory secure. "I still feel fuzzy when I stand in sand. What I did was I hardened the sand, only slightly, so that even sandbenders wouldn't notice the difference so much and sharpened my vision." She scratched her chin. "What I did with you, before the battle even started, was break up clods of dirt and sand and just wrap them around your puny body. I won before we even started."

"Whoa," I exclaimed. "What do you mean by 'puny'?"

After wiping off the sweat on her brow she put her hands on her hips. "You heard me. I mean, look at this," she pulled back her short sleeve and flexed her bicep. "This is muscle right here buddy. Nothing but muscle." She lowered the sleeve.

Muscle? Please, I had muscle. And I made a point of showing it to her.

"Well, what about this? You can't tell me this isn't muscle." I flexed my arm.

She snorted. "Yeah, Twinkle Toes. I _can_ actually tell you that that isn't muscle. For all I know it could be pudding." Toph waved a hand in front of her milky eyes. "I'm blind! Remember that? I have been for the past sixteen years. I swear with you _all_…" she trailed off, mumbling angrily to herself.

I let out a breath of embarrassment. "Sorry." I ran up to her and grabbed her hand. I put it on my flexed bicep so she could feel it instead of seeing it. "Feel it? This thing is all muscle." I moved her hand from that and put it on my chest. "_This_ is all muscle. How am I puny? I'm the Avatar, saving the world constantly requires a lot physical excursion on my part." I stopped talking when I sensed the atmosphere change drastically around us.

Toph's hand on my chest felt like it was on fire. Heat crept up into my face and my mouth felt dry. My breath became faster and my heart seemed to beat more now that it did when we were fighting.

In the glow of the moon I could make out a small streak of red staining Toph's pearly cheeks.

Softly, I whispered, "Toph…."

Her hand shot back like she'd been burned. Maybe she was because I know I felt something similar to an explosion in my chest.

She turned away from me, her hair lightly brushing my face. "We should probably get back." I tried to hold back my disappointment. But what had I wanted to tell her? "It's been like an hour and we have school tomorrow."

Confusion twisted my features. "School? You do nothing in school." Why would she suddenly care about that?

"Well…maybe…whatever, let's just go." She yawned loudly, making me mimic her. Lightly she touched cast but quickly let her fingers drop. She must have overdone it.

I put my hands out in front of me and blasted a tough wind towards Toph. She lost her balance and fell flat on her face. When she pulled up to face me I had to slap my hand over my mouth quickly, less a laugh escape my trembling lips.

"What was that for!?" she screeched in annoyance.

Okay, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I let out belting laughter. Because I was distracted with my laughter and my eyes blinded by the tears that sprang up, I didn't notice that I had been sunk into a deep hole by one infuriated earthbender. She stomped her foot, all but my chin and above was visible, as she put me in a sort of coffin like structure that was so tight I could barely breath. And that, combined with laughter, was not a good thing.

"What did you do that for _Aang_?" She had stressed my name, signaling utter annoyance.

I struggled to find my breath, "I – I – I was drying – s" I regained a bit of my breath so I could answer her clearly – "drying you off," I finished.

She growled. Her hair was like a lion's mane around her small infuriated face and seemed to defy gravity. Its tips seemed to reach towards the moon and the light cast a weird shadow that emphasized her terrifying yet strikingly beautiful features.

"Would you stop laughing at me," she requested in a tone that said she was annoyed, but underlying a hidden meaning.

I stopped immediately, sensing danger. "I'm sorry. I had to dry you off and that seemed like the best way possible." The rock coffin around me went back into the ground.

"Fix it," she demanded with unnecessary force.

I put my hands above her head and blasted downwards. Her hair was back to its original silky texture, though slightly frizzy. I brought my fists together and dried myself. I brought my hands up to fix my own hair, hoping it wasn't anything as bad as what I had given Toph.

* * *

**Toph's POV**

For the entire walk home, I didn't say a word. Didn't want to say a word, nor had the voice to give one.

I was upset over what had just happened and I couldn't understand why. Why did I care what he thought of me all of a sudden? I've known this shrimp for years and never gave a hoot about his thoughts–well, only the serious ones. So why did I care about such a trivial thing like what my hair looked like? I couldn't even see it. The whole blindness thing sort of prevented that.

Maybe it had started with the whole muscle thing. I fought down the blush that threatened to show; I didn't want the airhead walking next to me to see it. Why had I provoked him? Why couldn't I just ever keep my mouth shut, if I had, then I wouldn't be so…frazzled.

That's right, Toph Bei Fong was frazzled.

When I had touched his arms I got a feel for the smooth muscle underneath and was about to admit that maybe, just maybe, he did have some muscle. But then he put my hand on his chest and I swear I stopped breathing. My mind didn't really process any other thought except for what I was feeling at that moment, which incidentally was his chest. It was strong, smooth, sculpted, yet still felt even. It also felt hot under my skin. And even through his t-shirt, I felt like I was touching his bare chest. And the musty smell he gave off from our earthbending practice wasn't helping to clear my mind. His heartbeat seemed to reverberate throughout my hand all the way to my toes. But all of that was nothing, compared to what went through me when he had said my name.

He called my name softly, gently, like it was delicate. Which, looking back on it now, would have been weird because my name sounded like 'tough'. But that's the way I heard him say it. And I liked it. Damn it all, I liked the way it had sounded coming from him. Right when I heard my name spill from his lips, I felt like something had reached inside me and tickled my soul. And let me just say: Toph does not do tickling.

I was immediately self-conscience about myself and that hasn't happened in four years. When he had blasted that wind towards me to dry me off from my sweat I was just going to joke about it. Then he laughed and something snapped. Deep inside something ugly and unmentionable bubbled up to the surface and took control over my body. He was laughing at me, and that would usually never bother me, but for some reason it did. I had asked myself, _did I look weird? Is that why he's laughing at me?_

It hurt. My mind had been transported back to the time when the snobby girls from the upper part of the Earth Kingdom had made fun of my make-up. One of them had mocked that I looked like her pet Poodle-monkey, realizing how it would hurt. But they didn't know I was blind, but that didn't mean I was going to let them get away with it.

I had caused a whole in the stone bridge we were standing on and dumped them into the river below with unadulterated glee. Even after Katara had washed them away I could still hear their snooty voices mocking me in my head. Instead of snooty voices, though, I was hearing laughter. Aang's laughter.

I should probably give him a little credit. He didn't know that it'd hurt me. Heck, I didn't know it was going to hurt me. But it did and I didn't like that. I had encased him in earth to toss him five hundred miles away so he could learn his lesson but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead I had just commanded him to fix it in the hardest voice I could muster and hope that he couldn't hear the pain. He had fixed it, the pressure of the air stung my sensitive ears but I didn't say anything about it, afraid that I couldn't keep the rough edge on my tone I wanted him to hear. If I had to say why I thought it hurt to hear him laughing at me…I honestly couldn't reach a logical answer.

All I knew was that I hurt to have _him_ laugh at something _I_ couldn't see.

Sure, in this world there were a lot of funny things that happened that I couldn't see, but that didn't really bother me. How could you miss or be bothered by what you never knew to begin with? You couldn't and I prided myself on that fact. Nothing in the world bothered me because it really shouldn't. I didn't even care if I couldn't see. I had extra senses to make up for that. But in this world with so much technology, I could feel that there were a lot of things that I was missing. Things that made Birdie and the Mexican laugh their heads off. Of course, they told me what certain signs or papers said and I would find some of the phrases funny, but that still didn't help much.

I wanted to know what it's like to laugh at somebody for what they look like a certain time of day. And I hated that Twinkle Toes could while I couldn't. But I'd have to get rid of those kinds of selfish thoughts. It's sort of impossible for a blind girl to have those thoughts. Of course, I'm sure there are blind people that live on nothing _but_ those kinds of thoughts. Can you really call that living?

I call it stupid wishing. And I'm sure everyone knows that Toph Bei Fong will have none of that. At least not out loud.

A finger poked my shoulder and I found myself annoyed again. What was with all the touching? Could he not keep his hands to himself for once?!

"What?" I answered gruffly.

From each step he took, his heart would palpitate in an almost guilty manner.

"I…Are you angry at me?" he asked quietly.

I crossed my arms. "I don't know." And that was true. I didn't know. Yes, I had been angry but that feeling was then replaced with a thousand more and I just didn't know how to characterize the rest so I stuck with the one most familiar to me.

"Is it because I won the match yesterday?"

"I threw that match."

His voice shot up eight octaves, "Really?"

"No."

His voice was laced with confusion. "Oh." We were silent for a moment as he seemed to be trying to find a way to express his concern.

Honestly, I didn't want his concern but at the same time I felt that it was a nice gesture. I relaxed my tense muscles, knowing full well that my arm would be on fire tomorrow from all the stress I had put on it.

"Is it because I almost made you fall when I dried you?"

I didn't answer thinking it was best for him to guess it himself. Plus if I told him _why_ I knew that my temper would get the better of me and I would say something I'd probably regret.

"Is it because I laughed at you?"

I sighed quietly, relieved that he guessed it but I didn't elaborate. My mind was exhausted and I could feel a headache coming on.

"I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just that your hair seemed to be defying gravity and I…. I didn't think it would bother you," he explained.

I pinched the bridge of my nose, warning the headache not to rear its ugly head right now.

"It shouldn't have bothered me. I'm just tired," I threw out vaguely, as if that was the reason I was angry with him. I mean, I trusted him with my life, but there are some things that he just doesn't need to be bothered with.

"I'm still sorry. After all these years I should have known that having people laugh at your appearance would hurt."

My eyebrows knitted together. "We haven't seen each other in years, Aang. You're the Avatar who travels the world while I live in the Fire Nation. We're not just a hop, skip away from each other you know," a hint of bitterness colored my tone.

"That's no excuse," he argued. "I'm your friend and we should know stuff like this about each other. I guess I did know, but never really registered it to mind. Toph Bei Fong having feelings? Absurd." He laughed and I knew he was joking.

"I know, huh? I love surprising people with that kind of crap."

He laughed lightly along with me, but the solemn air returned not long afterwards.

"For ignorance," he said deeply, "I apologize."

I held up my hands as I stepped in front of him. "Whoa, boy. No formalities, please. It sickens me. We are friends but even I, the one who prides herself for seeing what's underneath, don't know every little pet peeve of yours. So don't go making this into a big problem, got it." I threw him a punch to the shoulder, not realizing how much force was behind it until I heard a loud smack.

"OW! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" he joked. "No wait," he backtracked, realizing what he said. "I didn't mean actually look, because you can't, but I didn't mean to be so insensitive! After what we were just talking about and I go do this–"

I interrupted, not really wanting to hear his ramblings. "Hey! Did you see me bothered by that? Because I wasn't. I understand that it's hard for people to remember I'm blind because I don't act like it. Do you see me with a stick? It's fine. What bothered me was how much a punch like that hurt a wimp like you."

We began walking again, our footsteps a lot lighter than what they once were.

"You threw that punch with underlying malice didn't you?" he speculated when I smiled innocently at him.

I avoided the question by giving him a compliment, "Well, I gotta hand it to you. You don't bleed easily like Toto."

"He told me he's an easy bleeder. Any small bump to any part of his body and it swells to the size of a tomato and if it's near his face he'll get a nosebleed."

So that explained why Toto was bleeding when I beat him up. He was just an easy bleeder.

"He's fun to beat up," I announced happily as if I had said I discovered a cure for blindness.

"Aww," he whined. "Are you replacing me?"

I laughed. "No way. No one can replace my Twinkle Toes."

He laughed lightly but didn't retaliate back like I was expecting. His heartbeat seemed to speed up; I noted this when his feet touched the ground for the briefest instance.

Slowly, he said, "So I'm _your_ Twinkle Toes?"

When he had first said that, the phrase had gone over my head. And I was about to ask him what it meant when my eyes widened and I fought that blush with all I had.

I let out a sarcastic breath. "W-what? You idiot! I–I di–didn't mean it like–like that." Ugh, I couldn't believe I was stuttering, but that stupid question had caught me off guard.

"Sure you didn't Toph," he said in a happy manner as he walked ahead of my faltering footsteps.

"I didn't," I insisted.

He waved back. "Sure."

When I began running after him with the intent to shut him up he sped up, using his stupid Avatar speed. The whole way back to Ana's house had been spent with me adamantly shouting that I didn't mean it like that and him being completely neutral about the whole thing. We ran into Ana's house, disturbing a conversation of goodbyes going on in the hall.

"You little!" I shouted at Twinkle Toes. "I said I didn't mean it like that you idiot!" Before I could catch up to my prey, I was caught around the waist by Toto.

"Hey what's going on?" he asked in concern, his voice straining slightly as I struggled against him.

"Come here Twinkle Toes and face me like a man instead of cowering behind Ana and Heidi!"

Aang was laughing and that only served to infuriate me and embarrass me even more. I threw my full weight against Toto's arms and in the back of my head I felt an immense ego boost when I heard him ask Riley for help holding me back.

"I'd rather not be a man if I had to face you," Twinkle Toes yelled calmly in my direction. Another pair of arms wrapped tightly around my waist in an attempt .

I could hear sniggering as the girl's tried to keep in their laughter.

"Is Toph too much for you _strong_ men?" Ana joked.

"Heck yeah I am!" I answered for them as I struggled harder, the urge to strangle Twinkle Toes rising. He better not tell them what I had said because it was just too embarrassing to listen to all over again in public.

"Toph's way more woman than anyone can handle. Honestly, you sure you weren't raised in the 'hood?" Heidi asked after praising me.

I stopped struggling and caught my breath. "What's a 'hood?"

"A tough neighborhood," Skeeter answered.

I snorted. "I was raised in the wimpiest neighborhood in the world." My world, at least.

Toto and Hothead let go of my waist, seeing that I wasn't going to struggle anymore, and shook out their muscles that were under the strain of my strength.

"Could've fooled me," they said at the same time.

* * *

Toto, Hothead, and Paranoid left, two of them complaining about how sore their muscles would be in the morning and the other laughing. Before Twinkle Toes left, he had leaned down to whisper in my ear in a voice so soft that it sent shivers down my spine that I tried to confine.

"I was kidding Toph. Your secret's safe with me."

I don't know what I was expecting him to say. Something…romantic maybe? But the more I thought about that the more I thought that air must have entered my brain. I don't do romantic…but then again, I'd never really had any reason to try something as silly as romance.

Sugar Queen had once gone off in a long sermon about how wonderful romance was when we were cleaning a wall that I dirtied up with mud when I trailed in after training in the rain, but to say the truth I had fallen asleep standing up halfway through it still soaking wet.

I snuggled into the covers of the guest room, Ana had gone up to her room a while ago and snores could be heard from downstairs so I figured she had fallen asleep while looking for the shoes she wanted to wear tomorrow. Heidi had fallen asleep on the couch. I would have picked her up and moved her somewhere more suitable but both my arms were protesting and rebelling against such unnecessary movement. I had taken a bath earlier, to try to appease my muscles with little success. Because Ana and Heidi were both asleep I had been left on my own to get dressed and that was a problem in of itself.

With a towel I had found in the bathroom, I wiped my feet so I wouldn't slip and tied it around my body tightly. I opened the door with a bit of difficulty finding the handle and walked out into the hallway. Giving up on the disastrous nonsense named panties, I found a shirt on the floor that smelled used, but I didn't care. Then I found some sort of garments that felt like it should have been put on my lower regions so I pulled them on and tied the string that dangled in a bow.

I collapsed onto the bed and simply untucked the covers from the side and rolled into them.

Just as I was drifting to sleep, my eyes half closed – they shot open.

What did Twinkle Toes mean by keeping my 'secret'?


	25. Homecoming Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. And I don't own any of the playlist songs, well, I own them on my iPod but I did not create them. **

**Playlist: **

**1. Metro Station – Shake it (Toph and Todd are dancing to this one in case you didn't know)**

**2. Gavin Mikhail – Brave (Ana and Aang are dancing...attemting to dance to this one)**

**3. Kris Allen – Live Like We're Dying**

**4. Iyaz – Replay**

**5. Rihanna ft. Jay Z – Run This Town**

**6. Jay Sean ft. Lil Wayne – Down **

**7. The Hours – Ali in the Jungle (Toph and Aang start dancing slowly to this one, although I guess it could be considered a fast song, but their taking it slow)**

**8. Blue October – My Never (Their dance continued)**

**9. Jackson 5 - ABC (haha, ending song)**

**Those are basically the songs I was picturing for this chapter. Of course, you can totally replace them if you don't like them. **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's POV**

The guys and I arrived at the school gym twenty minutes late and from what I could see from my seat in the back, the party was in full swing. We arrived late because I had been having trouble putting on one of Skeeter's old suits and needed help getting ready. It wasn't my fault that I didn't know how to put them on correctly.

We were at that dance. Homecoming, I think it was. This is where I was going to put my 'make Ana happy' plan in motion.

The air was cold, as it always is at night according to Todd, which was strange considering the sky rocketing temperatures in the morning. Even the Fire Nation stayed warm during the night.

Thinking of the Fire Nation, I wondered if Katara was doing okay. It's been, jeez, two or three weeks since we've been gone. Did she even know that we were missing? Would she send someone to look for us? Probably not. She'd probably be too busy with Zuko to bother with any thought of me. I mean, he was the one that was married to her. He was the one that she wanted.

Still, a man could hope, right?

The lights from other cars there were parking managed to blind me, but it also served as a good distraction from my melancholy thoughts.

I sighed and shook my head. Tonight my mind would be focused on Ana. I needed to make her happy, if at the very least, only tonight.

To distract myself from the bright lights I looked up towards the dark colored sky and noticed all the twinkling stars. Is it weird to say that they looked happy? The stars, I mean. Because they did. Or maybe it was me.

I mean, I was happy that I was finally getting to help someone. And all I really had to do was dance.

"Stop staring at the stars and start staring at the honeys." Skeeter steered me towards the gym door where a lot of tall, tan girls in various style dresses walked into the gym.

"This is why I like Arizona," he commented wistfully.

There was a loud, booming sound of strange music coming from the open doors. How loud was it in there? Were they really expecting me to go in there and bust my eardrums?

Todd punched his shoulder. "Cease ogling the fair maidens and strut to."

Riley walked up behind us. "In other words: move."

* * *

In all of the dances and balls I have been too I never once have been to one quite like this. And I've been to a lot. There was that formal ball in the Earth kingdom, the small dance party that I created in the Fire Nation, and a few more formal balls and parties that I'd been invited to throughout the years, though I only attended a couple. This one, in this strange new world, blew all of them out of the air.

There were flashing lights of a variety of colors all over the large expanse of ceiling. Streamers and balloons decorated almost every inch of the space. Though there were many lights, it was also very dark inside. Dark curtains covered the far walls that contained the schools logo and added much atmosphere to the dimly lit room.

People were dancing near and far from the entrance. Though they were split up into many different groups, some were laughing, others were dancing, and more than a couple just stood gossiping. My friends went on ahead, saying that they were going to look for the girls while I stood near the entrance just admiring the entire scene. The overall atmosphere from the place was just…fun. Unconsciously my foot started tapping to the beat of the music.

"Been here for five minutes and already you want to dance, huh, Fancy feet?" I turned around to face Toph.

"You know me; I just can't help myself when it comes to the rhythm." I looked at her outfit. "How in the world did they get you into a dress?"

She was wearing a short black dress that really contrasted with her light skin tone in the dark room. But she looked good, even though her bangs were once again covering her face.

"They promised me milkshakes."

Of course.

"Toph," Todd appeared in front of us from a mass of bodies. "Thou are a feast for the eyes and a dagger to the heart." He held her hand up to his lips and kissed it.

My eyes grew big. Was Toph really going to stand for that? I've seen her take out nobles for even offering her a dance, let alone touch her.

"I take it that was a compliment?" she asked.

Nothing in her voice came me any indication that she was going to kill him. Maybe there was hope for him yet.

"Of the highest sentiments."

Toph smirked. "Well, I guess that's okay then. Oh, Ana's at the punchbowl." Toph grabbed onto Todd's hand securely and led him out onto the dance floor.

Toph did. My best friend who buried men for giving her a 'funny feeling' just took one of those men onto the dance floor. And as much as it pained me to say it, I didn't like it. I mean, it just wasn't like Toph to do something like that. Did she even know how to dance? Last time I ever remember seeing her at a dance was when we were with the gang in the Fire Nation. And even then she didn't dance.

I looked around for the punchbowl and found Ana's curly mass of styled hair. Before I reached her, I took one last look around for Toph and Todd and found them dancing like maniacs to a really upbeat song where someone was saying the words "shake it" a lot. Which is incidentally what Toph and Todd were doing.

"Hey Ana," I called out loudly for there was no other way she was going to hear me in this noise.

She smiled as she turned around with an orange drink in her hand. She tilted her drink towards me. "Hey Aang. You look good."

I took a chance to glance over her deep blue dress that really just brought out the beauty in her. And I told her so.

"You look really beautiful, Ana."

Her honey eyes looked surprised and there was a deep red that stained her cheeks and made her look so cute.

"Th–thanks, Aang."

She took a sip from the cup in her hands. I grabbed it and set it down on the table.

"Come and dance with me."

She looked around nervously and twirled a strand of curly brown hair in her hands.

"I'm not a very good dancer," she admitted.

I took her hand and tried to get her closer to the middle of the floor but she pulled back, truly panicked. I let go of her hand and as she turned away I grabbed her hips, picked her up and set her down on the dance floor. Her hand was cold when I grabbed it as my other hand tied itself around her waist so she couldn't run. There was a slow, pop song playing now.

When she looked up at me I felt sort of taken aback. Her eyes looked terrified.

"Aang," she hissed as she squirmed in my grasp. "I really can't dance. Why don't we just sit? Sitting's fun! I like sitting."

"Is something wrong Ana?"

She looked down and her hand clenched onto my shirt like it was her lifeline. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed her to dance. I truly was a horrible person. But I never thought that she'd react like this.

"It's just…" she trailed off trying to find the right words. "I…want…to dance."

"But…?"

She looked up with a rueful smile marring her beautiful face. "The last time I danced…was with my boyfriend. And he told me that I should never set foot on the dance floor for the safety of others. So…I'm a little apprehensive."

I smiled at her. "The dance floor is for anyone who has the heart and will to dance. It doesn't matter if you're good or you send people to the hospital. If you want to, then do it." I paused; a thoughtful look crossed my face before I looked back down. "Besides, it's all in the lead."

Then, I proceeded to glide over the dance floor, being careful of avoiding all the others who were dancing as well. Ana closed her eyes tightly and pulled herself close as if trying to curl herself up into a little ball.

"Relax, it's only about you and me right now."

She shivered slightly but still wouldn't let up her head. Small talk it is.

"He probably couldn't dance," I said. "I can dance, and have you hit anyone yet? So it's really not your fault. It's his."

As the song went on and we continued dancing, her eyes slowly opened up and it seemed as though she was truly enjoying herself. Sadly, the song ended and something livelier began blaring throughout the gym.

Ana's face came up to look at me and a spark of happiness shot through my soul. She was smiling. It was pure, innocent, happy.

"Your right," she said. "He was a horrible dancer."

* * *

Throughout the night, I caught glimpses of Riley and Heidi dancing together and my heart would do that clenchy thing. Though, I tried not to let it show so much since Ana truly began enjoying herself and that was the reason I came anyways. Well, also because Heidi told us to come, but Ana was a big part of that.

Currently, I was trying to teach Ana the finer points of fancy footwork so she'd be a lot more confident when we danced a slow song again. She was good, but there was still the occasional tripping from both of us when she knocked us off balance.

There they went again. Heidi was smiling and laughing as Riley whispered things in her ear.

Ouch.

No, that wasn't my heart this time. Someone actually pinched my arm from behind. Three guesses who.

"Twinkle Toes, want to dance?"

Toph's voice made me smile. Ana and I stopped tripping over ourselves long enough to face Todd and Toph. I hadn't really seen them for a while. When I looked them over they didn't look like they'd been doing much dancing. My forehead was starting to collect beads of sweat and Ana's once cold hand was really warm.

"Ana." Todd said as he held out his hand. If I wasn't mistaken, it looked like he was blushing. Then again, this light was really tricky. Ana took his hand and waved me a goodbye.

"I'll be back," she called out before they disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone with Toph.

"So how'd it go?" she asked as she put her hands on my shoulder. In turn I put mine on her waist.

"She had a horrible boyfriend."

Toph snorted. "Yeah, she did."

"He told her that she wasn't a good dancer," I offered.

"And you told her that it depends on who leads?"

I paused our swaying long enough to stare at her like she was crazy.

"Were you listening in to our conversation?" I asked warily.

She laughed. "No. It's just such an Avatar thing to say. You incriminate people without really outright saying it sometimes."

I pursed my lips. "Do not."

"Do too."

That was enough talk about me. "I didn't know you danced."

She shrugged. "All I'm doing is swaying from side to side. It's not really dancing."

"You were dancing with Todd."

She shrugged again. "I call that a muscle disorder, not dancing."

"It looked like you were having fun."

She picked up a corner of her glossy lip. "If you call spastic–movement–of–muscles–disorder fun."

"Stop adding on to your illness."

She flicked my forehead before I could stop her. "It progresses fast; what can I say?"

We were quiet for a while, just us and the soft song playing as we swayed side to side. It was nice. It was familiar. For just a second, I could imagine both of us on top of Appa just sitting quietly as we soared through the air. I could almost feel the cold wind on my face. What would really make this seem like home was if Toph punched me, but I wasn't rooting for that anytime soon.

"Toph."

She nodded, to show she was listening.

"Do you remember when I threw that secret dance party for those Fire Nation kids?"

She squinted her milky, green eyes. Toph wasn't wearing her contacts today. Well, maybe it's because you couldn't really tell in this lighting.

"The one in the cave for the depraved little fire monsters?"

I nodded. "Yep."

"Yeah, what about it?"

I squirmed, a little uncomfortable with prying into her personal reasons. But we were friends. She had nothing to hide, just like I had nothing to hide from her.

"Well, why didn't you dance? I mean, I never saw you dance."

She sneered. "Maybe you never saw because you were too busy dancing with Sugar Queen. You don't really notice anything else when you're with her."

I frowned. "Of course I notice other things."

"No, Twinkle Toes. You really don't. Let me give you an example. Do you remember when you were dancing with Katara in the cave?"

Of course I did. There was so much rush of emotion behind the way we were dancing that that was where I first thought she might actually reciprocate my feelings.

"Yes."

"And you say that you don't remember me dancing?"

"Yeah."

"Did you remember that just now, or had you noticed it before?" she asked, her voice hard.

My hands felt a little sweaty under Toph's loaded gaze. Honestly, did she know just how much fear she could instill in people just by directing her blind gaze at them? I thought back, well, I'd never really given it much thought because after my dance with Katara we had to evacuate before any officials could catch us. And then after that Katara gave me a kiss on the cheek and all I remember was that Toph had told me that I really did help those kids learn a bit about freedom.

I sighed. One of the things that I actually disliked was whenever Toph was right. Never liked it; never did. Well, except for when it saved my life, but otherwise no thank you.

"Just now," I admitted, mumbling it low enough for her to have to strain to catch it.

"See," she pointed out. "You don't notice anything when you're with Sugar Queen."

"We were dancing. It was an old dance that we both had to concentrate on."

She opened her mouth and then closed it, as if deciding against something. That struck me as odd. This was Toph Bei Fong, World's Greatest Earthbender and World's Only Metalbender. She was rock in its essence. Hard, never afraid to tell it like it is. So why wasn't she blurting out her thoughts like she always had?

"I never danced because there was someone that I wanted to ask me to dance but he never did."

"Who?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Snoozles."

Sokka!? Really? Was she joking? The set look in her eyes told me that this was no joke. But Sokka? I could never picture rock hard Toph with crazy Sokka. It'd be like Todd being able to travel to the Spirit World. Impossible.

"Really?" I had to ask.

She gave a slight laugh. "Yeah, I used to have a crush on him."

My eyes grew wide. I mean, this was the first I've ever heard of this. I consider myself a pretty observant person, so why had I never noticed that my best friend had a crush on my other best friend? And since when? Did she still have a crush on him? What in the world have I been missing for the last seven years?

"What happened?"

"He married Suki," she said as if this was the most obvious answer in the universe.

Well, excuse me for being so ignorant. What happened to the whole 'best friend' thing that we had? Why was she just telling me now? Was she okay talking about this? I mean, I knew that I wasn't always okay talking about Zuko and Katara together, even now, so maybe neither was Toph.

"Are you okay?"

"Do you see me crying? Of course I'm okay. It was just a crush. I mean, I had a small crush on Teo for a while too."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Yeah. When you brought me to go visit them two years ago, remember? That's when I first met him. While you were off with his dad we got to know each other better. Well, you couldn't really call it a crush. It was more of an understanding of each other." She began to trail off in her thoughts. "I haven't heard from him for a while. When we get back, remind me to pay him a visit. His dad makes really good pastries, though they have the slight after taste of blasting powder. Don't ask me why. I don't question free food."

This was so much information to take in I didn't know what to say. My head was still reeling even after the song was over and it settled into another slow song.

"So–"

A finger on my lips interrupted my question. "Ask me later. When we train, okay?"

I nodded and she put her hand back around my neck.

"By the way," she said offhandedly. "You were a pretty amazing dancer back at the secret dance party."

"Thanks."

One of her hands on the back of my neck lifted up and I felt a sharp slap to my head. I cringed.

"Ouch. What was that for?"

"That's the lightest hit that you're going to get tonight. So enjoy the feeling while it lasts," she commented lightly as only Toph could.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Goodness me, so I finally have a chapter out. Sorry I haven't updated in three months or so. I really am. **

**My first excuse is that I really had no idea how to write this chapter or what I even wanted to happen. Second was that the laptop kept getting taken away from me. Third: homework, self explanatory. Fourth was that I had family activities that I had to do. And fifth is that I'm horribly sick and have been for the better part of this spring break. Honestly, try coming up with ideas while you're sick and worried about hacking your lungs out, which is what I've been doing while writing this. **

**I was about to quit writing near the end of this chapter just because I was wanted to really get back into my bed and sleep for ten hours, but I didn't. I persevered. (Mostly because getting out of my chair and walking towards my bed would be way too much work and I'd most likely cough up a lung on the way there.) **

**Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Nine pages people. I sat here for eight hours–give or take a couple of minutes of breaks–to write nine pages of Toph and Aang. **

**The next is going to be in Toph's POV.  
**

**Oh, and I haven't started writing anything for my other story because I was very preoccupied with this one. So, I'm going to start writing something for a little bit before my medicine takes effect and I'm clonked out. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches **

**=]**


	26. Homecoming Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

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**Toph's POV**

I'm getting soft. And I don't mean like I've gained weight, I'm still pretty slim and that training that I've gotten Twinkle Toes to agree to is helping keep that a fact. Though if I have anymore of those chocolate milkshakes that won't be the case. I mean, emotionally. I told Twinkle Toes about my long time crush on Sokka like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Surprisingly, that's what telling him had been like. I don't know why I all of a sudden got so talkative, but everything that I've kept inside had just sort of flowed out. Another surprising fact in the course of ten seconds occurred as well: it didn't hurt to talk about Suki and Sokka. I didn't know when, or how, but I'd just seemed to have gotten over it some time during our stay.

Then again…maybe this had just been a realization. After crushing on Sokka for a long time and then having him taken away from me, I'd been hurt. Actually, that's an understatement, but I'd rather not reflect back on the most depressing phase of my life. When I had last seen them–they were visiting Fussy Britches and Hothead–I'd felt a bit…obligated to be sad. I mean, Sokka was my first real crush and as such it was only natural to feel sad whenever he and his loving wife walked into a room together. Maybe…I was just holding on to those feelings because…well, I wouldn't even begin to know.

My head started to hurt, so I moved on from my complicated love life and switched over to one that had annoyed the heck out of me to see if I could do anything productive in that department.

After mine and Todd's spastic dancing, we sat down at an empty table for a while, just laughing at our convulsive selves. He was watching the students dance and gave me unforgettable details about some of the 'dances' that were happening around us.

"Hey, why don't we switch with Birdie and Twinkle Toes after these couple of songs?" I had asked Toto.

His heart beat had given a little jump but quickly restored itself to its steady beat since we hadn't been dancing for a while.

"I…I don't wish to impose on their bewitching evening. Ana looks like she's having fun."

I had nodded. "Yeah, but you're not." At least not anymore.

"No," he said adamantly. "I am. Dancing with you is exciting."

"You sound miserable."

He sighed. "I don't like you."

"Stop lying to yourself. You know you were head over heels in love since you first laid eyes on me," I had joked. Depressed Toto was really no fun.

"You were pretty," he offered, not in the mood to trade witty banter. "A bit of a jerk at first, but I liked you. And I thought you could…." He sounded hesitant.

"I could…" Jerk. Blunt. Hardhead. All good adjectives to describe how I first appear to people, so I couldn't really contradict that.

"You could take my mind off of Ana. Sorry."

I had given him a light punch to the shoulder which ended up being really hard–I swear I had not intended to make him fall out of his chair. I laughed which significantly dampened his mood as he got up.

"Thanks for the bruise, Toph," he deadpanned as he plopped down.

I had smiled. "Toto, why do you keep lying to yourself?" I asked again, but I was serious this time.

"I'm not." If that wasn't denial, I didn't know what was.

I groaned in exasperation. "You obviously like Ana. Heck, I'd venture as far as to say that you love her, but that's neither here nor there. But answer me this: if you had a chance to be with her, for even just a few minutes, would you take the chance or let it pass you by and regret it for the rest of your life?"

After that I dragged him towards Birdie and Twinkle Toes against his will.

I searched the dance floor vibrations for my friends, since Twinkle Toes and I had currently fallen into a comfortable silence as we swayed. There's only so much time I could spend in silence while not doing anything productive. So I searched and concentrated hard on trying to find them. But there were so many people here that they muddled the footsteps. That, along with the music resonating off the floor and walls was really making it hard to track them down. This is why I hated crowds.

Ever since I was a child, I've had a distinct distaste for large, crowded areas. At the palace in the Fire Nation there would be all sorts of parties held for ambassadors, generals or the occasional King and Queen of other nations to basically suck up to them and show them that the Fire Nation, under Zuko's rule, had really changed from it's pompous I'm-going-to-conquer-everything-in-sight–while-setting-open-flame-to-anything-I-basically-want-to ideology to we-don't-feel-the-need-to-kill-off-entire-races-anymore-cookie?

While it was fairly certain that some of these higher officials had many reservations when it came to Hothead, they were willing to put it aside for one night of fancy dancing, expensive wine, and no political squabbles until the next day.

Being a prominent figure in the Fire Nation–considering that I was technically an Earth Kingdom citizen–my opinion about the newly reformed Fire Nation was highly sought. People basically wanted to know if I thought that there was a chance for the Fire Nation to revolt again since I was in charge of new recruits.

I could never say for certainty that there'd be no revolts so I answered that we were taking appropriate measures to prevent it. During these conversations I'd drop a couple of compliments Sparky's way to raise his credibility among these stuck up, fancy talking bunch. And if Sparky so happened to assign me something that I didn't find favorable the next day, I always reminded him of that fact and it'd get me off the hook–at least most times.

Don't get me wrong, Zuko was a good ruler. All of my compliments were the truth and because I believed in them, many officials believed in them, too. Sparky understood that not everyone in the Fire Nation was going to switch from 'kill all who aren't me' to 'hug all nationalities' in a split second. This was something that was going to take time. Before I left, he was in the process of drawing up a law banning the practice of Agni Kai which I thought was pretty gutsy of him. Agni Kai, from what I understood, was an ancient tradition among his people, and to suddenly ban it was just downright crazy. But the law dictated that Agni Kai's would not be banned for good, only that it would be used as a last resort. And it could only happen if approved by all members of the Fire Nation Council, the King, and judicial officials.

While I loved hearing him take a stand for his rights, I honestly had to wonder if the parties were a necessity. Couldn't we just all discuss this over a good earth rumble tournament or a play? Was it so necessary that I spend two hours in hell with devil maids who thought of me not as a human being but as a doll?

Sweetness loved the parties because Sparky–being completely wrapped around her finger–let her have her way in the decorations and management of the parties. And Sweetness loved nothing more than being in control of people who wouldn't talk back. She wasn't that overbearing…only when she was stressed. But she always managed to go overboard with the invitations.

Since she hadn't been born into royalty, she honestly had no idea what 'exclusive party' meant. To her, it meant that every name that happened to pop up in her head was invited. What it really meant, and what both Sparky and I had tried to teach her, was that only those of importance were invited. Even now, she still has no idea what counts as important in high society. So most parties that were under her reign were on the verge of being overcrowded until Zuko and I got the great idea of getting her an advisor for such things.

But even in her parties, the music had never had such an effect on me. The music here was intoxicating. Its beat reverberated from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. It made me want to dance. It made me want to throw away any nasty inhibitions I may have. It made me want to throw up.

"Let's sit down," I suggested.

Though I liked the music, the way it was making my bones rattle and my senses tingle was on the verge of knocking me out from the overload.

"You okay?" he asked.

I nodded as we waited for a table to clear. After three minutes my patience really wasn't holding out so I sat down on an empty chair, lifted my feet and slammed them down onto the table while leaning back in my chair. In the process I had knocked over a couple of drinks that had splashed onto both girls and boys alike. The table was cleared out with a chorus of ew's in less then ten seconds.

An exasperated air came from Twinkle Toes as he sat down next to me.

"See Twinkle Toes, that's how you do it."

He scoffed. "I prefer the polite method. You know–'excuse me, would you mind making some room?' instead of slamming my nasty, sweaty feet up on tables where people were eating. I'm sure more than a few of the girls are barfing from the smell." He was smiling, I could tell.

I grabbed my foot and inhaled. "It's not that bad. Want to smell?"

He pushed away my foot from his face with gentle ease and set it back down on the table. I tried to ignore the way my foot tingled from his touch. It wasn't strange to feel his heartbeat through my feet, especially when he was holding them, but it was strange to miss him being so close.

"You're used to your own smell. Not the case with other people."

I shrugged off whatever that feeling was that tingled my stomach. "Whatever, they can kiss my feet."

He chuckled. "Are you trying to become a murderer? If so, that's a very creative way of killing someone: death by smell," he said dramatically.

"It's fast and really doesn't require a lot of preparation. All I have to do is not wash my feet for three months and then shove it into someone's face."

There was a pause as I waited for his remark and then, for some reason, he began laughing hysterically. Was he laughing at me?

"Did I say something funny, Twinkle Toes?" I asked, weaving menace and blithe together effortlessly.

Air from his palm fanned my face as I imagined he was doing to his own. It brought my temperature down from the heat of the packed room so I relished in it before he stopped.

His voice was filled with laughter when he answered. "No, no. I'm not laughing at you. You just reminded me of something I heard when I was traveling." I waited for him to continue since a new round of laughter overtook him. "S-see. There were a lot of rumors about you in this little village located just before you reach the Earth Kingdom. I stopped to let Appa get some rest because we'd been traveling for days. This was like a few years ago, remember my visit?"

"The one where we started a pudding fight?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

"That's the one."

Oh, good times. We had gotten in a verbal fight about what tasted better: nuts or berries. I can't remember how we got onto that topic of conversation – the hilarity that ensued drove all thoughts from my mind – but before I could put him in a hole a butler called out to us that dinner was being served. We left the topic at a deadlock, that is until dessert came rolling around. Berry pudding, and hazelnut pudding was being served. As Sweetness and Sparky began conversing on whether or not Katara should be allowed to go to the market by herself, I had challenged Twinkle Toes to a tasting contest. He grabbed four bowls of Berry and hazelnut pudding and put two in front of me. As he ate, I got the idea that maybe berry pudding tasted better when flung at a high speed. All of us–including Sparky–started a massive food fight that left the servants and maids cleaning for days.

"What about it–other than the fact that berry pudding rules?"

"Lichee nuts bury berries ten feet under. But anyways, I mentioned your name to a couple of villagers who asked me where I was going and it was like Fire Lord Ozai was standing right behind me. They elders shrank back while the kids smiled and started asking me questions about you. I asked them what was the matter and it seems that you've made quite a name for yourself Toph."

"Well," I stretched my arms in front of me and relaxed them behind my head. "I am just that awesome. So what were they saying about me?"

"Apparently a group of bandits were camping out in a forest near there some time ago. Forty strong. Yet, only ten of the bandits actually made it into the village where they begged to be jailed. Though they were bandits and their clothes were tattered and worn, it didn't look like they'd been in a fight. When asked what prompted this decision your name was the only thing they could say." He laughed again. "I was just imagining you shoving your feet into the faces of thirty men while torturing the other ten. The village gossips told me that you were a frightful thing to behold if you could take out thirty men without earthbending. Now I know your secret."

Was that the village with Chan Juan and her little group? Wow, that really was a while ago. I felt a surge of pride and I swear I heard my ego inflating. Did I make that much of an impression on the little village with such few earthbenders? Huh. Go me.

"Well," I ultimately said. "Don't go telling people my secret. I use the element of surprise because my method isn't effective if the enemy knows what that smell of rotting hog monkeys really is."

"It's not that bad," he assented.

"Hey," I turned myself towards him as much as I could without falling over. "You think you've done your job with Ana and Toto?"

He hesitated a moment before answering. "Oh, um, I guess. But I still need to talk to Todd's mom about her staying home more. I think Ana's happier now. At least I hope so."

I shook my head. "That's not the problem. With Toto I mean." _With either of them_.

"What is?" he asked obviously confused.

I sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder if you're the Pebble in disguise."

"The Avatar feels conflicted over arguing with a small blind girl over his identity."

I cracked a smile at his lame impression and socked him in the arm.

"The Avatar is over his conflicted feelings." He changed back to his normal voice, "What makes you think I'm anything like the Boulder?"

I resisted the urge to flick his head. In order to make our training later extremely productive, I'd save all my shows of outwardly affections until we were surrounded by miles upon miles of rock.

"You're both kind of slow."

"What do my development skills have to do with Ana and Todd?"

"Do you seriously not feel that? Then again," I mused, "it may just be a blind earthbender thing I have."

This happened before with Sparky when I vouched for him to become Twinkles' firebending teacher and everyone else outright refused. They wouldn't even wait a moment for me to explain just how much Hothead was telling the truth. I knew that whatever he had done to them before really regretted it. All he wanted was a chance to redeem himself, but no one would let go of their grudge long enough to listen to him.

Guess that happens a lot in any world. It was sort of ironic actually. A blind girl could see the world so much clearer than the rest of this world.

However, I kind of doubted that I was the only one who felt the sudden change in atmosphere. There was always an air around Todd when he was near Ana. It nearly suffocated me when he finally saw her in all her splendor today – or at least it was something along the lines of splendor according to his rapidly beating heart and shallow breaths.

I changed the subject. "So, why do you feel the insistent need to meddle into other people's lives?"

He scoffed. "I don't meddle. I help people overcome their troubles so that they can move on with their lives. How's that meddling?" he preached with Avatar pride dripping from every word.

"Meddling is defined as butting in to people's business when they don't ask for your help specifically. Case in point: you trying to fix everyone's lives so that we can skedaddle on out of here. While I condone you're reasoning, I think we're–or rather you–are going about this the wrong way."

"How is that?" He asked in a defiant tone, probably thinking that there was nothing wrong with his logic.

"Well, an Avatar is more like a guide than a dictator, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "I'm _guiding_ these people in order to live better lives so we can go back to our world."

"Why don't you just let them settle it themselves? People are intelligent enough to figure out their lives, they only need a nudge in the right direction. You're the nudge."

"The nudge would like to go home faster and the only way for that to happen is to be a pretty big nudge." There was sorrow in his voice and I felt slightly bad for bringing up my thoughts. "I miss Appa and Momo." Katara, was that silent name left in the air after his words.

But I understood that he was homesick. I was starting to catch a bit of that myself, but what did I really have to go back to? My parents who were ready to marry me off to a noble? Sweetness and Hothead who were expecting a little munchkin that would cry its head off and keep the whole palace awake for hours on end? My new recruits? Sokka and Suki? Yes, I missed them, but there was really no home for me back there. No one to really go back to.

Great, I just depressed myself. Way to go Toph.

"Aang?" asked the stupid voice of the school's Queen Bee. I hadn't seen her in a while and I had hoped not to see her ever. Sadly, though this is a large school, it was only a matter of time before she got a hold of us.

"Oh, hi Katherine. Your nose looks a lot better this week."

No one missed the choked sound coming from me as I unsuccessfully stifled my laugh.

"Hello Toph, you look…good," she said in a manner that told me she wished that I looked horrible. My mother was often referred to as being beautiful and since she was married to a royal that could only be true. I was told that I had her beauty and my father's handsome face all rolled into one gorgeous looking me.

"Thanks," I curtly said.

There was a silence where I bet she expected me to say something else but, come one, I had no idea what she looked like. Hopefully horrible.

"Did you want something?" Twinkles asked to alleviate the silence.

"Yes," she cheered up when she addressed Twinkle Toes and I couldn't help feel some sort of anger at her presence in general. "I wanted to know if you would care to join me for a little dance."

Twinkle hesitated for some reason before giving her a reluctant yes. They left and I found my mood just growing dismal now that I was alone.

After a few minutes with my eyes closed listening to all the noise around me, I quickly stood up and stomped over to the doors, not even bothering to go find my shoes.

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**A/N:**

**Alright, I'm out for the summer! However, that also means that I'm gonna have a lot of family time and stuff to do, so updating will be a bit more tricky than if I was still in school. (that makes no logical sense but it's what happens – with me, anyways)**

**Hopefully, I'll finish this story soon. That's my goal this summer anyways.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. It's a bit of a filler but I kind of like it. I don't know if I captured the characters as well because I wasn't in my usual quiet and nothing-but-music environment because my room is hot like no one's business – which happens every summer. And it's hard to concentrate when the TV's on and my family is animatedly talking. So I hope that I got this down and, well, I can always revise it later if I read it and I'm not satisfied with it.**

**R&R por favor!**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	27. Homecoming Conclusion

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Derr. **

**(It's almost four o' clock and I have to get an early start on the day tomorrow. Yet, I couldn't stop myself from writing, so you better take smug satisfaction in the fact that I am sleep deprived because of you all. =D )**

**I wanted to show the comfortable relationship between the two of them and Toph's delimas. So, hope you guys enjoy.**

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**Toph's POV**

When I made it to the unofficial training grounds I was freezing. This was one of the rare occasions where I would have loved to have been born a blind firebender. However, the name gave away just how dangerous that would be. But what I wouldn't give for a fire to warm up the cold night. Then again, it probably didn't help that I was in a dress.

The bubbling waterfall sounded soft in my ears. For a moment, I considered wading in the water but quickly decided against the idea. Death by frostbite was too slow a way to cease living. There were much more effective methods out there, like decapitation.

I turned away from the waterfall and followed no particular trail. Instead of thinking, I felt. Night life wasn't as dormant as most people would like to think. Animals, plants, and various unknowns were always moving, thriving. Underneath the ground various insects burrowed intricate tunnels and chambers of dirt. If I concentrated hard enough I could almost feel their tiny legs creating a small amount of pressure under my feet as if I was stepping on them personally.

I had been concentrating too much on their lives under the surface that I hadn't noticed my surrounding changed. Everything grew fuzzy for a moment before I realized where I was. It was the only part of my sturdy element that had ever given me problems. Though I hadn't exactly mastered it, I had studied it enough to feel only a slight discomfort being on sand.

I dragged my feet a little ways before just giving up. With one foot I twisted around and fell straight on my back. Sand particles flew up around me before settling back down. Crickets chirped loudly and small animals scurried along the cliff side searching for food and safety.

Rock was stable. Sand was shifty. To be able to see in the sand I had to focus almost everything I had to be able to determine exactly where the strongest vibrations were. The stronger the vibrations were, the closer I was to determining the approximate location of my opponent. If I trained more often on sandy shores, it would probably become second nature to me. After all, I was the greatest earthbender in the world, not to mention the world's only metal bender. But I wasn't done yet.

There were still a lot of things I had to learn. One of them being sand bending. I was going to become the world's greatest earth element bender.

But there weren't a lot of places in the Fire Nation where I could practice. Well, not any close to the palace and soldier quarters. Keeping track of new Fire Nation soldiers took up most of my time and the only bending I had to use with them was earth and metal. And even those were on rare occasions. Sand wasn't my biggest priority.

I jumped high in the air when I heard my name being called.

"Toph!"

I landed on my back with a harder thud than when I had fallen on it willingly. Being caught up in my own thoughts was seriously going to be my downfall.

"What Twinkle Toes?" I asked with mild irritation as I rubbed my back.

"You weren't there when I came back and I couldn't feel you anywhere." Soft wind descended him down next to me.

"So you decided to come looking for me? Well, ya found me." I relaxed my body in the gritty sand.

I felt him lay next to me his arm radiating warmth. If I hadn't been irritated I would have probably enjoyed the heat a little.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked. "We didn't even get a chance at another dance."

I exhaled a breath through my nose. "I just wanted to chill out with my elements, Hairy."

He groaned. "You know, I think I'm just gonna shave it off. It's too distracting."

I reached up and put my hand on his head. My fingers smoothed out some knots as they entangled themselves in the soft tresses.

"You're right," I told him, still playing with his hair. "It is distracting."

He sighed. "I miss my bald head."

"Shave it off when we get back," I concluded, though I kind of wished he wouldn't. Twinkle Toes with hair or Twinkle Toes bald: both were equally nice to feel. But I'd milk Twinkle Toes with hair for a while.

We were silent then. I imagined him looking up at…something, while I looked up at nothing. It was nice. Instead of relying on sight I relied on feel. So I stretched my senses and focused on Twinkle Toes. His breath was soft and even. His heart beat steadily. _Bu-boom, bu-boom_. I would have fallen asleep to the peaceful tune but his voice ruined any thoughts I had of resting.

"Do you want to train?"

I shook my head. He was silent for a moment before speaking up.

"Want to go to the Spirit World?" he asked with a bit of hope lacing his voice.

I shook my head again. "Not really."

His mood deflated. "You don't want to see?" he asked, bewildered as to why I'd turn down the chance to reverse what I was born with even if it was temporary.

"Don't need to, Twinkle Toes. While, admittedly, it was a good, strange thing to be able to experience that which I've never experienced before, seeing with my eyes is just not for me." I heard the sand shift and from the pinprick on my neck I could tell he was facing me.

I recalled the various images I had seen in the Spirit World. It was sweet to be able to see but I still didn't understand it. My element was rock, and I wouldn't be the world's greatest earthbender had it not been for my blindness. It was hard to explain the curling feeling in my chest. Seeing with my eyes almost felt like I would be cheating on who I was. Also, I'd had identity problems my whole life (Blind Bandit, The Runaway, helpless blind girl) I really didn't need anymore.

Twinkle Toes accepted my statement with ease and I remembered one of the many reasons he was my friend. He could accept an explanation as vague as they come with pretty much no questions asked because he knew I wasn't that good with explaining myself. And the following conversation showed me just how much I was really grateful for that aspect of his character.

"So…can I ask you the question I was going to ask you at the dance?" he asked cautiously, treading thin ice.

"Sure."

He took a deep breath. "So how many people have you had crushes on?" His voice made me think of his twelve year old self trying to fulfill his curiosity.

I snorted loudly in the desert night and followed it up with a punch to his stomach. "You make me sound like a floozy," I said with only slight offense in my tone.

"Well, I mean, what else was I supposed to think. In the span of ten minutes you inform me about your crush on Sokka and Teo. It's only natural to think that you've had more crushes."

I rolled over on my side, my arm propping me up.

In a low, conspirator voice I answered. "Do you promise to never tell a soul what I am about to reveal to you? It's the mother of all secrets, Aang."

I heard his neck shake intensely. "Yeah, yeah. I promise!"

Gravely, I shook my head. "No, this has to be a super promise. It's my deepest," my voice grew lower, "darkest, most humiliating secret I have ever had."

Excitement was evident in his voice. "I give you an Avatar promise that I won't tell a soul about it. Now what is it!"

I held back a snort. An Avatar promise was more of a pinky promise that would be null and void if his hands were crossed behind him. Only in dire situations did it mean anything. In the company of friends it was a foreboding word.

I leaned in close, lowering my tone. An owl hooted in the background adding on to the weighty, anxious atmosphere.

"I did have another crush. This one was even bigger than the one I had on Sokka. I'm not completely over this one." I put my hands on my face. "Oh, this is so embarrassing. Forget I said anything."

He was actually jumping in place. "No, please! Tell me, tell me. You can't leave someone hanging like that! Tell me."

I uncovered my face slowly, putting my fingers tentatively on my chin. "Okay…. I had a crush…"

"Yeah," he said eagerly, trying to egg me on.

"On…"

"Yeah," he almost squealed.

I leaned in front of his face, so close I could feel his hot breath fan my face. It smelled like cookies.

My voice was completely serious when I finally revealed the answer.

"The Boulder."

His heart stopped beating for a second. There was a noise like a creaking door that sounded nearby. It took me a moment to figure out it was him making the sound from the back of his throat as he tried to say something. Just when I finally thought him to be braindead he came back livelier than ever.

"What?" he yelled in my face. "You can't have a crush on the boulder! He's like…he's…_old_. You're too young to think of him as anything other than a friend and he shouldn't be taking advantage of you. Oh, my Spirits…" he didn't bother to hide the disgust, "You guys didn't…do anything, right?"

My mouth was shut tight. Air wasn't escaping me and I felt the pressure in every square inch of my face. I had no idea what he interpreted the expression as but my best guess would be surrender to his question.

"Toph!" he cried, scandalized. No longer able to maintain his shock lying down, he stood up and vented through pacing rapidly. "You are too young to go around kissing people willy-nilly. It's just not right. You're only–why are you laughing?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. Bubbles of laughter shot up through my mouth, actually hurting my throat. I laughed loud and proud. Then I was wheezing, unable to draw a breath into my body. One hand fanned my face while the other clutched my shaking midsection. Pain shot through my sides, and various unintelligible noises came out of my mouth as I tried to calm down.

He sat down with a resigned thud. "You were kidding," he deadpanned.

I pointed halfheartedly at him while sucking in a gasping laugh. "And you…" my voice was strained and hoarse, "you believed me!" I took several shallow breathes as I tried to finish a sentence. "What in the world…" chuckles over took me for a moment, "the world you think the Pebble and I would be doing?" Another round of gasping laughter tore his dejected air. The pain in my ribs was becoming unbearable but I couldn't stop laughing.

"You," he spat halfheartedly, "grow cynical with age, don't you?"

I was able to contain the laughter into smaller fits of giggles. But I managed to nod my assent.

"Cynical and a better prankster," I answered with a cheeky grin.

"I fear for your children."

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"What are you going to do when we get back?" I asked Twinkle Toes.

After my joke (and a considerable amount of time spent calming down) we decided to simply lie down and look at the stars. Of course, Twinkle Toes looked at the stars while I had my eyes closed, listening to the sounds of hooting owls and scampering desert mammals.

We were lying down next to each other, but even then I was still cold. So-without his permission of course-I scooted closer and laid my head on his chest, wrapping an arm around him. When he asked me what I was doing I had shrugged and answered that I was cold. He let it go but his heart was racing as I had only known it too when Katara would give him a peck on the cheek as a greeting. I didn't know what it meant, but I was to comfortable to bring up Sweetness.

It reminded me very much of that day before we'd been swept away in the water. His heart had been racing then too, but I chalked it up to a fear of the swamp night. Now he feared the desert? What a wimpy Avatar the world got stuck with. But all that thinking about the swamp (even though I got a bit distracted when I remembered his muscles) got me thinking about the reason I had depressed myself with at the dance. Where was I going to go when we got back?

"First of all I have to take you home."

"Good luck with that," I said genuinely.

While dealing with new Fire Nation troops was something that I was good at, I didn't know if I could do it for the rest of my life. Though, the privileges I acquired with the title of Field Marshal in Command over the First and Second Division were pretty sweet. My position was actually above General, seeing as how I was in charge of all the new recruits, applications and their training. If necessary, I would also be sent out to fight rebels. But that only happened once and even then it was more of a skirmish.

"You don't want to go back to the Fire Nation? Do you want to visit your parents?"

I shook my head. My parents were definitely not an option for visiting anytime soon…or later. Back in the Fire Nation I had sent them letters written with the help of Lieutenant Jee, the man who had actually been part of Zuko's crew when he was banished and in search of my little monk friend. Lieutenant Jee knew how to keep a secret just as well as he wrote and sang sappy love songs. We were close, but the friends I had made in the army…well, if I had the choice between them and Whale Tail Island, I'd choose Whale Tail Island.

"What is home?"

Confusion laced his voice, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I mean, Zuko's home is the Fire Nation. The guy spent years trying to find you so he could go back for goodness sakes." I could feel a wrinkle on my brow. "It's not mine. What is home?"

"It's kind of hard to explain," he hedged.

"Don't feel bad," I assured him. "Even if you did explain it perfectly, I doubt I'd know what you're talking about. I've never felt like I ever had a real home-whatever that feels like."

He was silent for a while, possibly trying to think of how to explain it to me. When he answered, he sounded all wise and Avatar-like. "I think home is where you feel like you belong. Do you not feel like that with Zuko and Katara?"

I blew my bangs out of my face and felt him wince from the cold. "Well, I love 'em. But there are times when I feel like I belong and times when I don't. When we get back, can we visit a seedy Earth Kingdom tavern?"

"Why in the world would you go there?"

"I get free drinks if I flash my family's seal at this one place." Everyone, even the people outside of Ba Sing Se, knew of my family and I didn't waste my time in flaunting it. Free drinks meant more money in my bank.

"Cheapskate," he said lightly. "And you call yourself rich."

I smiled against his warm clothes. "I'm making my own salary Twinkle Toes. My parent's money is just that: their money."

"Doesn't some of it belong to you?"

"Technically, but I don't see it that way. If I earned the money by doing something of my own power, then yes, I'd consider it mine. Too bad I haven't. I could be happily retired by now."

Being Field Marshal wasn't filled with the lavish lifestyle of being a Bei Fong, but it definitely came with the money. Most of that I had in a bank. General Blowfish on top of being my second-in-command, had a knack for math. He helped me balance the thing on a daily basis, and I trusted him enough to let him handle the money. After all, everyone knew that if you rubbed me the wrong way, you grated the Fire Lord. Having an influential political leader on my side was awesome that way.

"You wouldn't be happy unless you were fighting or earthbending. In your case: both at the same time." I could hear his smile.

I faked a pout. "Not true." Then I told him the truth. "I'd be happy as a teacher."

"A teacher?" he echoed.

"Why not? If I'm good enough to teach the Avatar, I'm good enough to teach a couple of snot nosed punks." I poked him.

"I have a feeling you'll be a very strict teacher."

"As much as I have to be. Believe it or not, I have to earn respect."

"From who?" His hand took that moment to settle on my head.

I paused a moment before answering due to the distraction. "Everyone. Blindness is still seen as a handicap back in our world. Instead of blasting anyone who patronizes me because of it, I prove them wrong…and have them bow down and kiss my feet."

He sighed in exasperation at my statement but didn't comment on it.

"Well, if it's any consolation…I think that you'll make a great teacher. I mean, earth is my natural opposite and I learned it in less than five months."

"Don't go getting a big head." Using my hand as leverage, I pushed myself up to face the general direction of his face. His hand slipped from my hair towards the ground and I missed the warmth. I used my finger to poke him in the chest so he got the message. "You're not that good."

It wasn't a lie. His earthbending could use some work, but for the most part he was pretty good.

"I've been practicing," he exclaimed. Suddenly he shot up. My hand that had been wrapped around his middle slid to the sand. I frowned at him as he walked a little bit away from me. I was just getting comfortable. "Look!"

I felt a small pillar of earth jump out of the sand. The shifting and grating of sand bothered my ears but I shook it off when I felt something abnormal about this pillar. It was small, but when I stomped my foot to feel it…I could feel some intricately carved lines, indicating that he had just sandbended a sculpture.

"Who's that?" I asked.

The pillar had the outline of a human body, but the face on it was unfamiliar, seeing as how I couldn't see. That whole blind thing again.

"You," he was clearly happy with how it turned out and waited anxiously for my answer.

I cocked my head to the side after I was finished inspecting.

"Am I really that short?"

"Physically, yeah. But you have a big presence."

I knew that was true but the way he said it so lightly made it feel cheesy.

"Yeah, yeah. Save the compliments for later. Stand next to it." I stomped my foot again, focusing on the central vibrations. Then I simply stomped out of spite. "That's absolutely no fair! Why are you so tall?"

His tone was careful. "I…grew?"

"Why?" I demanded.

"People do that sometimes," he retorted sarcastically.

"Why didn't I?" I asked more to myself than him. But the Avatar was known to have many answers to many questions. Seeing as how I was his best friend, this just happened to be his area of expertise.

"Everyone's different Toph. Some people are small and some have big ears." When I answered that with a look that hopefully said "what in the world?" He revised. "Just look at it this way: when you kick butt you shatter egos so badly that they'll never be the same again because they got beat by a petite, young, blind earthbender. You have just thrown that person in a dark pit of despair that they will never escape."

I put a hand on my chest in a flourish. "Aww, that's sweet Twinkle Toes."

He chuckled. "Only the truth Sifu T. Hey," he suddenly said. "Weren't we going to train?"

A side of my mouth tilted down into a frown. "I'm not really feeling up to it. Want to just camp out here…like the old days?" I asked with a bit of hope lacing through my words. It'd be fun to just get back to the old days. Although, I'd prefer not getting shot at by someone like Combustion Man. That reminded me… I had to ask Sparky what Combustion Man's real name was. It had always been a mystery to us but we'd never had the chance to ask Sparky. Being the Fire Lord of a newly reformed nation made him a busy man.

But, in regards to my request, Twinkle Toes was more worried about other people rather than agree to indulge in leisure. "What about Todd and Ana?"

"They'll freak out," I stated. "But they'll chill once they figure out that we're together." I held my arms up. "For some reason they trust you to take care of me Twinkle Toes."

I heard him give a small snort of amusement at my comment. My butt hit the sand hard and stung, but I paid it no mind my uninjured hand patted the ground next to me. Aang laid his body down with a groan. After giving him some time to relax on the sand, I brought my head back down on his chest and wrapped my injured hand across his belly. We were in content silence, but I had the feeling that Aang was itching to bring something up. I could tell because he wouldn't stop fidgeting with his fingers.

Finally, he asked. "By the way, how'd you get down here? I assume you didn't earthbend."

"I took the stairs," I muttered. My eyelids were growing heavy so instead of trying to fight them, I let them shut.

"Hmm, " he hummed in surprise.

"What? Is it so strange for me to take the stairs? I was building up leg muscle so I don't end up puny like you." My injured hand lifted up with the intent to poke him but fell back down like lead.

"Well…it's just odd for you to not even attempt to earthbend down. Learned your lesson?" he asked playfully and with a bit of smug satisfaction.

"We are stuck in another world and the fact that I took a couple of stairs is odd to you?" I managed to get out before a large and loud yawn overtook me. With his heart as my lullaby, sleep was quick to take me, but not before I heard his soft words.

"To each his own."

* * *

**A/N: **

**By the way, I went back and revised a couple of insignificant things. I reread it and noticed a couple of mistakes I had to fix.**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	28. Toxic Farting Meat Animals and a Ladybug

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. I only wish.

**Okay, so I'm finally back after a month of not updating. As I've said before I was visiting family that I haven't seen in about five years. It's not that often we can travel out of country. I was not trying to hold the story hostage for reviews nor did I lose any interest in the story. (There's no way I could lose interest after coming so far.)**

**I wrote some of this chapter already and completed the other part on my vacation, but I had no access to a computer or internet so I couldn't write it or post it. **

**I'll try my best to wrap up this story because I have the best (of course I'm completely biased) idea for a sequel. And a little preview: it won't take place in the modern world. We're going back to the past! **

**So enough rambling. Let's get on to the story. **

* * *

**Aang's pov**

I had always been a morning person. Ever since I was a little kid I used to jump out of my bed, startling the monks who were assigned morning cleaning that day, in my haste to make it to the large courtyard to watch the sun come up.

It fascinated me how different the sky could look at different minutes or hours of the day. The purple-blue of the sky was tinted with wisps of deep orange, rose pink, and turquoise blue even before the sun peeked out over the mountains. When it did the dark orange transformed into bright orange and sunshine yellow. Later on, the sky would turn into a calm blue as the stars began to fade before my eyes.

All the colors captivated me so immensely that I would forget everything for a moment and feel so in tune with nature.

It was to this kind of sky that I woke up to. Nostalgia filled me as I thought of my old home.

Toph had chosen to curl into my side sometime during the night. Her raven hair covered her face while the rest was splayed out on the sand. She was snoring slightly so I stood up silently so as not to wake her and inhaled the crisp, fresh morning air.

It was interesting how the air seemed to be almost new in the early morning, as if it had passed through a filter at night to rid itself of the all the smog, the heaviness, the heat it seemed to gain as the day went on.

I wanted to wake her up and have her experience the thrill of morning with me, but she couldn't. She was blind and it was really the colors that made everything so beautiful. Maybe I'd describe it to her one day.

The sun was barely over the horizon of rock but its light seemed to color everything pastel. It was as if I was looking at a painting rather than an actual landscape. When I took a step back to look at Toph, the painting grew a million times better. It was even more captivating with her curled form than if someone had just painted the scenery.

I felt happy.

Yesterday was fun and I could feel my muscles loosen up as I stretched again. All that activity had been exciting and new. I sort of wanted to dance again. Or better yet, airbend. How exhilarating it would be to fly in this open space and feel the new air brush against my skin. I wondered if Toph would be opposed to the idea of coming up in the air with me. If I couldn't share the wonder of colors and stars, maybe I could share my love of the skies.

We were best friends and I was always open to whatever she wanted to do. Hopefully this wouldn't be asking too much of her. She wasn't comfortable in the skies, I knew that. From all those times we'd ridden on Appa I hoped she had gotten used to flying. But it was different riding on top of Appa. Appa was a large, furry animal. There was more space to get your bearings. But with me, there was only me.

I would have kept up this line of thought had I not been distracted by a noise in front of me. It sounded like whimpers. I looked down and saw that Toph's small hands were sort of trembling. When her feet began twitching I rushed to her side and gently shook her.

"Toph? Toph. Wake up. Please wake up."

She came up sharply with a gasp. One of her hands came up too and the back impacted hard with my eye. I groaned in pain and wished that Katara was here to heal it so it wouldn't hurt so much.

"Gah," I groaned as I opened both eyes to get a good look at her. Her face was slightly ashen and there were small droplets of sweat forming on her brow. She was breathing harshly. Bits of sand were stuck to her cheek and a lot more in her hair. But what worried me and took me a bit by surprise was the expression on her face. "Toph are you okay? What's wrong?"

It was wild and distracted and scared.

"Toph?" I asked again. Please come back from whatever nightmare you were experiencing, I thought. It almost hurt to see that unfamiliar expression on her face.

For some reason she sighed heavily and fell back onto the ground.

"I'm fine. It was nothing," she insisted. "I just had a nightmare."

"What was it?" I asked. It must have been terrifying if it caused her to wake up in such a frenzied state. If it was something bad I wanted to console her and tell her everything would be alright. But what would make her act like that? Toph, the rock. I feared the answer a bit but let her speak because I had to know.

She gave a small laugh. "There was no meat in the world and I was forced to eat ocean kumquats and other veggies by small monkey humans for an eternity."

I smacked my head. Only Toph would consider no meat a reason to wake up in a cold sweat.

"Oh you poor baby," I mocked, glad that it was something inane and not serious. "Eating vegetables? Ocean Kumquats are admittedly horrible, but lettuce, rutabagas, cabbages? Nothing wrong with those."

She shook her head and stretched her muscular arms towards the sky and wiggled her long toes. Yet I felt a small prickling in the back of my mind. A prickling that told me Toph was lying. She wasn't dreaming of monkey humans. But I knew that if I pressed the issue she would deny it strongly. There was a reason she was keeping whatever she dreamt a secret from me, and only she could choose to unlock it. So I'd accept her answer and keep up the game she began to play.

"Let me give you some facts of life," she said as her arms rested under her head. The wild look on her face was calming, but there were remnants of it that I hoped wouldn't stay. "Animals destined to become residents in my belly, in their natural form, fart. When they fart they produce toxic gas that mixes with the air we breathe. If it weren't for the plants that convert that toxic air into breathable air, we would all suffocate. Meat eaters rid the world of these toxic farting animals. You, my good Hotman, eat the plants that sustain life on our beloved planet." She ended that statement with a haughty curve of her lips.

It took all I had not to laugh out loud at her ridiculous statement. She reminded me so much of Sokka the way she was passionately, and logically defending meat.

"Your point?"

"I help the world," she said righteously. "You, contradiction, are killing everyone one salad at a time." She _tsk_ed.

"Fruits and vegetables give you a lot more energy than meat," I countered. There was no way I was going to let her diss veggies and fruits that way. "It's healthy." It was my way of life.

"Not for the world."

I shook my head at her childish arguments.

"You're entitled to your own opinion," I compromised.

She sat up and crossed her legs.

"And you're not entitled to deprive everyone of oxygen every time you eat." Her haughty face told me that she wasn't going to let the subject go anytime soon. At least the wild look was gone. As she spoke the look lessened into oblivion until I began doubting myself of its existence in the first place.

"At least I don't have to watch my weight." Fruits and vegetables kept me healthy and trim. Meat had fat. Veggies did not. Meat had a face. Veggies did not. I win. But in Toph's meat driven mind, my style of life was just unacceptable.

"Neither do I. I train." She flexed her arms. "Just look at these babies. Muscle, Twinkle Toes. Pure muscle." She growled a bit to emphasize the muscles.

I tried a different argument. "Meat makes people angry. I am a happy person. You are cynical, sarcastic, argumentative, and like to hit things."

She gave me a lopsided smile. "Can't argue with that."

Her hand was stretched out and I held it firm to help her up. She was going to earthbend the sand off of her but I caught her wrist. Surprisingly, she didn't argue with me and allowed me to earthbend the sand off of both of us.

Sleeping on sand was nice at first, but after a while of moving it starts settling into very uncomfortable places.

"We should get going," I told her, looking up at the bright sun warming up the air around us.

"Why? We could get in some morning training now that I'm up."

"Can't," I informed her, a bit disappointed. But my tone grew hopeful, "I have an appointment."

"With who?"

"Riley."

"For what?"

I shrugged and said casually, "To save the world," to which she responded to with a light punch on my arm and a small smile on her face. Toph was never one to let something drag her down. Whatever had woken her up that morning was probably in the back of her mind already. She'd be okay for now. And besides, we would have a chance to talk things out later. That is, if she wanted to.

"Cheesy, Twinkle Toes. Pure Cheese."

* * *

"Why don't you just move out?" I asked. I didn't even bother to contain my exasperation and agitation.

"Because I'll be disinherited and I don't have a job."

I smacked my head. "Why don't you get one?"

"I'm trying but even if I do get a job I have to save up a whole lot of money before I'm able to get a place of my own."

"Then you should stay over at Todd's house."

"I don't want to impose. He's put up with a lot from me and I have nothing to offer him in return."

My anger dissipated rather quickly after that statement.

I looked out at the park where Riley and I were at and saw a little girl and her big sister running towards the swings situated near the center of the green field. We sat underneath a tree, one on each side. Riley asked for me to meet with him because he needed someone to talk to. Of course I agreed and met him here.

The first five minutes were superficial conversation, and then we lapsed into a stiff silence as I waited for him to say what was on his mind. When it was clear he was going to need a little prompting, I asked him what he originally wanted to talk about. He began to monologue about his dad for a while and I listened patiently, trying to come up with a perfect solution for him. Unfortunately, and annoyingly, he shot down ever one of my suggestions.

I played with the grass, letting the tips tickle my hand as we spoke.

"You can offer to pay rent," I suggested.

I heard him sigh. "I'd still feel pretty bad. Despite appearances, I have feelings and moral codes."

That was true. Riley had always struck me as a sort of collected, silent guy. Lately, though, I learned that this wasn't the case. Whenever he was unsure of something he would always remain quiet. He was also very awkward when it came to things that made him uncomfortable. And he was a bit of a hothead when things got under his skin. But he seemed like a caring guy underneath it all. Way underneath. He wasn't the best with words or actions.

"Do you have any relatives?" I asked.

I heard scratching on the bark of the tree. Out of my peripheral vision I saw him resting on his side and scratching the rough bark of the thin tree with his stubby fingernails. A ladybug climbed across my hand. Tilting my hand, I guided it across my palm.

"Not any around here."

I frowned as the ladybug circled my forearm before traveling down to the tip of my middle finger.

"No other friends that would let you stay out of the goodness of their hearts?" I asked him with a bit of a patronizing tone. All his friends were kind and would, of course, allow him to stay in their homes until he figured things out. But he wasn't going to ask them for that favor.

He stood up, knowing that I knew his answer to my question, and started walking towards the playgrounds. Getting the hint, I stood up and walked after him. The lady bug was still crawling on my skin so I bent down and attached it to a blade of grass.

"There you go little ladybug. It's green and probably tastes better than me." I wasn't sure what ladybugs ate, but I guessed it was greens. Because greens were healthy. Lady bugs really did know their stuff. A small smile made its way onto my face as I remembered the squabble I had with Toph this morning. Currently she was in Ana's house, probably eating meat. Honestly, I was going to have to try harder to introduce her to better food.

My feet picked up the pace until I was in step with him. We passed the swings, just barely out of range of flying feet.

"Not really," he sullenly answered. His blond bangs fell over his face to cover his eyes.

I pursed my lips, holding back a groan. I understood the fact that he didn't want to impose on people, but he'd already shot down my idea of camping. He said that the world wasn't that safe anymore which caused much worry on my part.

Sure, back in my world camping wasn't the safest mode of habitation, but barely anyone would bother you if that was the way you chose to live. It was just the tone in which he said it that worried me. It wasn't filled with terror, but rather seemed like it was just common knowledge that camping was unsafe and dangerous.

It made me fear for the world. How far downhill would we have to have been if we couldn't trust our fellow neighbors?

"The only thing I can do well is weld. But I'm too young. So it's college or nothing and that's still a year away."

"What do you weld?"

He shrugged. A bench and table was erected near another small tree and offered limited shade. I picked up my pace and lay down on top of the table with my gaze on the large expanse of clear blue skies. Riley straddled the bench and slumped against the trunk of the tree. This was something I learned very recently about Riley: he liked to lean. I don't think it was for any particular reason either, just habit.

"Lots of junk. It's not just welding. I'm into mechanics as well. I fix small appliances sometimes. As for the welding…if you want to give what I weld a name it'd be…" his voice grew smaller and I had to strain to hear him, "arts and crafts. I do things like jewelry too. Those go to Heidi and my mom. They're the only ones who don't laugh _that_ much about what I do in my spare time."

I smiled at the sky. "That sounds fun."

"It's a hobby," he said forcefully.

My eyes narrowed in concentration as I tried to recall a memory. I remembered that it had something to do with Katara's necklace and a fish.

My adventures with them weren't the clearest due to a couple of times when I'd hit my head during battles. But there were just some that stuck with me like glue. Most were happy memories. Well, as happy as any memories could be with the weight of the world on my shoulders. There was just something about what Riley had said pertaining to jewelry that was resurfacing a past memory.

We were silent for a bit until a loud slap broke through my thoughts. Riley held a pale hand to his now red cheek and wiped it off on his pants.

"Stupid bugs," he muttered.

I gasped and sat up in front of him. My sudden movement caused him to lose his balance and he ended up falling on the ground with one leg still curved around the bench.

"I got!" I yelled.

He regarded me carefully before slowly asking, "Got what?"

I smiled. "An idea."

"On how to get rid of mosquitoes? Or my problem?"

"Your problem. My friend once gave me a recommendation about becoming a jewelry merchant when I grew up."

His eyes were skeptical.

"Good for you. But what does that have to do with me?"

I leaned back on my haunches. "Why don't you sell what you make? People pay good money for handcrafted jewelry, especially if it looks good."

He was silent as he stood back up to sit on the bench facing away from me.

The girls were now rolling around in the grass, covering their clothes with grass stains. I wanted to join them but Riley needed me right now. The bigger sister picked up her smaller one and twirled her around and around. Giggles and shrieks filled the air generously. More and more people began filing into the park no doubt attracted by such an obvious show of happiness.

"It's not a bad idea…"

"But…" I prodded.

He sighed and buried his long, slim fingers into his blond hair. His voice was tight with emotion and it sounded to me like he was a little embarrassed.

"I'm not that kind of guy."

I frowned, not understanding his meaning. "What kind of guy?"

His pale hands ruffled his hair before settling back on his face. The words were muffled from behind his hands but I understood him.

"You know. The kind that sells jewelry. Hell, I don't even look like a guy that makes jewelry." His face looked haunted, as if becoming a jewelry maker was his worst nightmare. Well, I thought, it's better than being a cabbage merchant.

"What does a jewelry maker look like to you?"

"A girl."

"Okay…. But there's no reason a guy can't do it. Besides, it pays well and isn't that what you want?"

A blue eye chanced a sidelong look at me from between thin fingers.

"You're too happy. You realize that?" I grinned and he leaned back against the tree trunk with his arm over his face.

"I eat my vegetables," I informed him.

After a pregnant pause he spoke. "I have a reputation to uphold, man."

"You can still lean and make jewelry," I answered.

He lifted his arm up enough to make a face at me. "What are you talking about?"

I pointed to him. "That. Leaning. It's like your signature move. You can still do that and make jewelry."

He let out an amused breath. "You are something else."

I shrugged. "I try."

A strange and charming jingle sounded in my ear. It was too far away for me to guess what it was. All I could say was that it sounded happy and made me want to bounce. Riley noticed and asked me what I was doing.

"This music is just enthralling."

He looked around and his blue eyes landed on something just behind me. His serious demeanor turned into disbelief.

"Get a grip on yourself, Aang. You look like a toddler." I stopped bouncing but couldn't stop my foot from tapping along with the rhythm. "It's just the ice cream truck." He looked down at my foot. "What to get some while we discuss my future? I'll drive you back to Todd's house afterwards."

I gave him a toothy grin. "Nothing says future like ice cream."

"By they way," he asked as we made our way towards the white truck, "what the hell happened to your eye?"

I touched the eye Toph had accidentally hit and winced as a sharp pain shot through me.

"Mosquito," I answered.

"Nasty little buggers aren't they?"

A private smile appeared on my face. "Only when they first wake up."

* * *

Riley and I had a very good talk about his options as a jeweler and I think I even got him to come around to the idea. I also gave him a couple of tips on how to sell and steered him away from his black cloak idea. But it would ultimately be up to him if he was going to go down that road. I was just a nudge.

It was nighttime and Todd was asleep so I made my way towards the unofficial training grounds with pep in my step. Just like that, I had solved another life. That was two down so far if my count was correct. Now all I had to do was figure out what was wrong with Todd–since apparently my assumption was wrong the first time–Heidi, and Skeeter.

I wondered if couldn't just sit down with Todd and ask him what he needed help with.

Well, that was another thought for another day. I had to go and meet up with Toph or risk her hurting her arm while she tried to bury me in a rock-a-lanche.

* * *

**A/N:**

**You know, I think all worlds should have ice cream. It should be a requirement. And I mean, down in the South Pole, what else are you going to do with all that ice and snow? **

**That's right, you flavor it. Preferably without sea prunes. **

**Just a short filler of Aang trying to save the world, one person at a time.**

**Hope it tides you over until the next chapter. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	29. Aang's Not The Only Avatar Around

**Disclaimer: Did you ever hear that joke about a girl who went by the name of Lola of the Peaches who owned everything to do with ATLA? Well, here's the punch line: it was all a lie! **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's pov**

To do my style of earthbending, patience is key. I always waited and listened. Any change in my opponent's stance, in the direction of the wind, or a change in pressure of my surroundings would alert me to danger and I'd act almost instinctually. It was an indescribable feeling that surged through my body whenever I fought against an opponent. I'd feel so secure in who I was and what I was doing that everything was simply effortless. It made me happy.

But for some reason, patience seemed to fluctuate like the tide with me. Sometimes I'd have a high patience, and most of the times I'd have a low patience. It all depended on who I was with, what I was doing, or what we were talking about.

Currently the tide of patience seemed to be in my favor. And knowing Toto, I definitely needed it.

We were at the Indian burial grounds again because I had asked him to take me there. I thought it was the only place where he'd answer all my questions, and his, truthfully. Seriously, who would lie in a cemetery? That's just asking for some bad joojoo.

"So what did you want to talk to me about that was so important as to make me waste gas?" he said quickly, clearly not wanting to be here. He wasn't very happy with me in the first place, seeing as how I ate a cake that was supposed to be for his class project and accidentally threw away all his notes.

I shrugged. I figured a blasé attitude would be best applied here.

"What's got your panties in a knot?" But blasé really wasn't me, so instead I went for the direct approach.

I heard him sigh heavily. "I just…. Do you know why Aang wants to talk about feelings?"

It took everything I had not to burst out laughing. I shut my mouth, took a deep breath, and replied in a cool tone.

"It's because I have no feelings. Twinkle Toes makes up for that."

Apparently I wasn't the only one who had annoyed him today.

He snorted. "He makes up for _too_ much of your lack of consideration. Let's sit over there."

I took a step and felt him point in the direction of a small stone bench I hadn't noticed before. I shivered when I took another step towards it. My insides were getting cold again.

As I went to sit down on the bench, I felt almost guilty for being there. The chill germinating from my insides felt like my soul was slowly suffering from hypothermia. If I thought about it too much the feeling constricted me and would no doubt suffocate me from the inside out. Not the most pleasant way to die, I would think.

I tucked my feet under me, wanting as much space between me and the ground as was possible. It was just…creepy to feel all the bones underneath vibrate against each other. If anything, it had to be the most gruesome scene I'd ever seen. And I was blind.

"So really," Toto said, "for what reason does Aang feel the need to speak about such private matters?"

"Because, Mr. Eloquent, he's worried about you."

"Me?" his tone was incredulous, as if he couldn't understand why anyone would care for him.

I nodded. "Yeah, you."

"Why?" he asked suspiciously. "Have I done anything to make him think I'm not fine?"

I took a moment to think about that. Well, I couldn't rightly tell him that he was next on the Avatar's Fix List. And I didn't really think he showed any sort of troubling signs to Twinkle Toes.

I settled for a vague but truthful answer.

"He just feels that you're not as happy as you could be, but he doesn't know why."

"And you do?"

I nodded.

"Alright, diagnose me future psychoanalyst."

I lifted my hand to punch him, but it came back down quickly. Man, I was so not enjoying this place. The guilt flared when I even thought about doing some sort of physical action against Toto, which was probably why I asked him to bring me here.

I knew that if I told him once more what I thought about him not pursuing his interest in Ana, he'd be all evasive and defensive leading to my fist connecting with his shoulder. But that wasn't what he needed right now. In pure Twinkle Toes's fashion, Toto needed someone to listen to him.

"I can feel your heartbeat climb whenever Ana's around. You would literally go to the ends of the earth for her–"

"So would a lot of best friends," he defended as I knew he would, "so I don't see why–"

"Let me finish," I warned. "You two are best friends but, while you love her, you're completely frustrated with her inability to see what you feel. But you know that's not entirely her fault because you're not putting a lot of effort into showing her. Despite you're frustrations you would always be there for her regardless of your own commitments. But you know that there will come a time when that wouldn't be possible. My question for you is: can you stand to see her live her life with another guy in fairytale land, while you get stuck in the shadows?"

Immediately, I could feel a rush of anger coming off of him. I wanted to tell him to stop because his anger was just adding on to my guilty feeling, making me feel even guiltier because I was the one who made him angry. I shivered and held my sides. I wanted to run far away from here and never come back again. But I couldn't. It was the only place where Toto would stop and think.

His angry silence told me he was thinking about my words. I hoped he wouldn't dismiss them.

"I'm not having this conversation with you," he clipped. He began walking away and out of reflex more than anything I used my earthbending to stop him.

Now give me a little credit here. It's not like I encased his body in earth or struck up a large wall. I simply put a small, barely noticeable, barrier around his feet making it impossible for him to move. However, should he notice, I began speaking to distract him.

"Why?" I asked. "It's not like you're going to have this conversation with anyone else. No one else knows about your feelings and for you its better that way. But I know. And I won't allow you to walk away from them because it's too hard to deal with them."

His fists clenched as if trying to restrain himself from lashing out. I winced as the unwelcome guilt of what I was doing flowed into my broken arm, pricking it every so often. He had already admitted his feelings about Ana to me, but now he needed to do something about it. Why was I making him do something about it? Well, as Twinkle Toes said, I was going to be the nudge that pointed him in the right direction.

"I already told you that I like her. What more do you want from me?" he followed with a serious of mumbles and protests against his stupid legs that wouldn't let him move.

"I want you to actually do something about it yourself instead of having to rely on others. At that dance, I _know_ you would have been happier knowing that nobody had to influence you to ask Ana to dance. But I did, and yeah you may have had a fun time, but that was because I was your crutch."

"I like crutches, they're fun to swing on," he said flippantly, pissing me off. I took a deep breath to calm down as another pinch made me wince.

"Well then, sucks for you, because I'm not going to carry you throughout the rest of your life as you follow after Ana like a love sick puppy. Everyone deserves a little bit of happiness. But for some reason, every chance that you could possibly have at happiness gets crushed under your big, stupid, head."

"Look," he exclaimed, finally allowing his thoughts through, "I can't just go up to her door and say, 'hey Ana, look I've been wanting to tell you something for quite some time now and well, here goes: I love you.' That's just asking for rejection plus some laughing and pointing on the side."

I let out a little chortle of laughter.

"And so it begins," he moped.

I shook my head. "No, you idiot. Look, I'm not saying that you have to tell her right this second. Spirits know that if you could wait a couple of years, you can wait a few more days. What I'm saying is to show it to her, little by little, but do not be subtle about it. Ana doesn't get subtle. Be daring and stop holding yourself back. But if you're too forward about it she'll run for the hills. Trust me on that. You just gotta find the right balance. If you don't you'll regret it."

I had some personal experience with that. When I had a crush on Sokka, I never really did anything. Except for that time when I was planning on kissing Sokka after he rescued me from drowning in the Serpent's Pass. But we all know how that turned out. From then on I promised myself to always check who it was I was kissing, not that I've done much of that over the years.

However, it was because I had done nothing to show him how much I liked him that he was able to move on from that moon gal so quickly. If I had told him I'm sure he would have thought twice about Suki…or at least let me down gently. I grew resentful and purposely ignored Suki whenever she would speak to me after the ending of the war.

One night, I was walking towards the small courtyard garden because it was a shortcut from my room to the training grounds where I was supposed to meet my men for a midnight lesson. Earlier that morning a few of them had mumbled curses at me and this was their punishment. I was in a pretty good mood, considering the fact that I'd get to use corporal punishment. Even before I stepped into the courtyard, I could feel two very familiar shapes underneath one of the trees.

Tea man had taken up strolling the garden when he came down to visit from his tea shop in the Earthkingdom. He told me that most of the trees in this particular garden were called Flame trees because of their unique leaves and pink-seed capsules.

It was under one of those trees that I felt the familiar figures.

It was Sokka and Suki. They were talking but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then I felt Suki move in closer and kiss him. I felt like I was going to start crying but I held in my tears, walked towards my men, and gave them a workout that they still haven't forgotten and cringe whenever they hear the slightest mention of it.

Sure, it made my men more respectful of me but that wasn't what I really wanted. I wanted Sokka to notice me so I took up the position of Field Marshal. He was impressed, but still hung out with Suki, the eldest of the Kyoshi warriors.

He hurt me in ways that he'll never know, but I hurt myself in ways that I wish I didn't know and hadn't done. But I knew that I had been deluding myself since the beginning. Sokka was irrevocably in love with Suki, it was obvious to anyone who saw them together. Despite that I still held out some hope that he'd see me differently. That he wouldn't see me as his friend.

But the case was different with Toto. He loved Ana. He didn't just have a crush on her; he truly loved her with all his heart and soul. If Ana wasn't so oblivious then she'd notice that. I didn't want Toto to suffer the same hurt as me, or greater hurt I should say, he had way more on the line than me.

He just needed to get his head out of his ass long enough to actually use it productively.

There was a reason why Twinkle Toes wasn't the one telling him this, and why I didn't tell him about my meeting up with Toto. If he knew, there'd be no telling what kind of mess he'd create with Ana. If he let her down easy, instead of her realizing she doesn't really like him, then she just might go off the deep end.

Birdie was finally letting her heart accept another guy after her apparently previous crappy relationship. Aang, no matter how gently he would undoubtedly do it, would still be rejecting her. So it was just better for all of us if Twinkles didn't know to reject her, and Toto just swooped in and swept her off her feet on his own terms.

"I just…" he trailed off, finally giving up on fighting with the ground so I let him go. "I feel like I would weather her over like a smooth rock if I advance even the slightest. She doesn't think of me in a romantic aspect–"

"Then make her!" I forced out, tired of his self-pity. "Seriously man, stop trying to justify doing nothing by saying it's for her own good because it's not."

I wished for a moment that I was in his face while saying this, but I didn't want to be near the ground. Up high on my bench was just fine for now.

"Why?"

I nearly smacked him in the head with a twenty pound rock. "Because you'll both be on the path to misery if you don't–"

"No," he clarified. "That's not what I meant. I meant, why do you care so much? Is there a reason you don't want Ana to fancy Aang?"

"Whoa, no one said anything about _fancying_ each other okay? They're both way to young for that."

He chuckled, "I didn't mean it like that. I'll put it in layman's terms: is there a reason why you don't want Ana to be Aang's girlfriend?"

I blanched.

Yes, there was a reason. The reason was because when we go back to our world, whenever that would be, there's no way we could take her back as well. She wouldn't even know the first thing about surviving in our world. She wasn't a bender for one. And if she was Aang's girlfriend, well, she'd be in trouble all the time from crazy Avatar fangirls. How would she protect herself? He needed someone who was fine with him leaving for weeks or months at a time, someone who could take care of herself, someone who would knock him back to earth if his head got too full of hot air.

I had no idea what to give him as a reason that wouldn't sound…stupid.

My ever reliable instincts however, came up with one that could at least pass for an excuse.

"Well, because you and Birdie are just so good together. You guys understand each other on a level that's bordering creepy."

I could hear the incredulity in his voice. "Right. And that's the only reason you care to share?" he said almost tauntingly.

I cocked my head to the side in confusion, "Um…yeah. That's basically it."

He chuckled, "Are you sure?" he goaded.

I groaned. "Yes, I just said that." Now it wasn't only the site I was on that was making me uncomfortable. I felt like he had a point somewhere but he was sure taking his sweet time in getting to it.

"Are you sure you don't have another reason? One more…personal, I guess you could say."

"But I didn't say and I don't have another reason. If you're trying to say something, go ahead and say it."

Instead of saying anything he walked off to his car without another word. I quickly jumped down and followed after him, trying to shut out the gruesome images of bones broken and twisted and scattered every which way. I shivered all the way to the car.

"Hey," I said.

"Hmm?"

"Promise me that you'll never take me back there again."

"Yeah, no problem. You looked really uncomfortable there."

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes, happy to be driving away from the place. "You have no idea."

* * *

I got out of the car in front of Ana's place where I felt her somewhere inside the house. According to Toto it was pretty dark outside so he wanted to accompany me to the door. I laughed in his face but let him do it anyways. I put my hand on the doorknob but I didn't turn it because all of a sudden Toto's hands came up to grab my shoulders.

I fought my instincts to knock him out with every fiber of my being, instead I just tensed.

"I think," he whispered, "you don't want Ana to have Aang as her boyfriend because you like him. I know Aang sneaks out every night, and I have no doubt he's doing it to meet up with you. Just what do you guys do every night? Dates?"

Oh, he was so lucky that he wasn't buried ten feet under right now. He had better bow to Twinkle Toes the next time he saw him since it was only because of him that Toto would never get to see the Blind Bandit.

"If you don't get your hands off of me I'll show you what we do every night."

His hands quickly left me but not in fear as I'd hoped.

"Whoa. Don't nobody need to be seeing that kind of stuff on Ana's front porch Ms. Rated R."

My hands fisted harshly. I had to let them relax forcibly when my broken arm started to throb from the effort.

"You son of a–" I didn't get to finish my curse because Ana had come to the door.

"What's rated R?" she asked.

"Well," Toto said cheerfully. "See you later!" He parted with a wave and practically ran to his car, his heart beat jumping slightly above normal.

"Oh, okay, bye Toe-jam."

I stomped past Ana.

"Hey, Toph, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"I'm tired," I clipped.

"Really, 'cause you look like you have a lot of energy."

"Goodnight," I punctuated with a slam of my door.

Distantly, I heard her say, "Oh, great, now I got to beat up Toe-jam for pissin' her off. So inconsiderate. He's not the one who has to deal with her in the morning," she grumbled.

I leaned against the back of the door for a long time, waiting for the Lady to go to sleep. I stomped my foot hours or minutes later and felt her heartbeat. It was even, signaling she was asleep. I jumped out the window.

Now usually I envision my jumps out of windows to be pretty spectacular. But I didn't count on someone putting a bunch of wood underneath my window. My heel just barely grazed the wood but I felt a splinter lodge inside it.

The pain was worse than when I broke my arm. It was the equivalence of someone who was not blind shoving a needle through their eye. I limped towards the training grounds.

* * *

When I arrived at the edge of the canyon, I could feel Aang waiting for me.

"Hey Toph. Thought I'd save you the trouble of taking the stairs."

I nodded stiffly and he proceeded to bend us down into an open space. When we reached the bottom he walked off of the platform and kept walking until he realized that I wasn't with him.

"Toph?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

I blew my bangs up. "I got a splinter. Take it out," I commanded, a bit of anger seeping into my voice.

I sat down and held my foot up. He hesitated a moment, probably because of my anger, but nonetheless quickly came over. He held my foot gingerly in his hands. Gingerly: it was a good word to describe him. Actually Twinkle Toes could be ferocious when he had to be so I guess a better word to describe him would be: random. One minute he'd be sad, the next happy, the next angry, and the next he'd have the solution to all the worlds' problems.

If only he could solve mine. It wasn't so much as a problem as it was a slight annoyance that I had to get rid of. I liked him. I mean, he was my best friend, so, of course I liked him. But the way Toto said it made it sound like I was pining after him. Toph Bei Fong does _not_ pine…anymore. Even when I had a crush on Sokka I wasn't pining. There were times when I completely forgot about my feelings because we were constantly on the run from Combustion Man and all our other long-ago enemies.

"Would you like to tell me where it is so I can get it out?" he asked playfully.

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't be a smart mouth. Can't you see it? It's right there." I shoved my heel into his face.

"Okay okay," he said quickly. "Sheesh, Toph, what's the matter with you?"

I gave him my 'are you serious' face. "No, I'm perfectly fine. I mean it's completely normal having a splinter in my eye. So you know what, don't even take it out. It's not like it hurts or anything."

When he touched it I pulled back, afraid that it'd hurt even more than it already did.

"No, I mean, you seem disturbed. And I don't mean just because of the splinter," he said the last part quickly to interrupt another of my sarcastic remarks.

"That's really the only thing 'disturbing' me Twinkles."

Two minutes passed.

"Would you get it out already!"

"I would but you keep taking your foot out of my hand!"

"It hurts!"

"That's why I'm trying to take it out," he forced out, frustrated with my reflexes about as much as me.

"I can't help my reflexes Twinkles."

Before I could move my leg away from his touch again, I found my arms, torso, and legs bound to the floor. Using my good arm I quickly smashed through the bonds before he could touch the splinter. I was just about to pull back out of his hands again when I heard him say gently:

"Toph. It's out."

I got to my knees and threw a punch to his shoulder.

"Never do that again."

"Then watch where you're stepping next time," he retorted back.

I went to stand up but when my foot touched the ground I felt a slight burn so I quickly lifted up my foot from the ground.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

"No, I like standing like this."

He began to walk away, tired of my sarcasm. I knew he was just trying to help but Toto's words were still in my head. I was so frustrated with Toto. I was so frustrated with Aang because of his stupid: don't show anyone we're benders, rule. If it wasn't for that I would show Toto what it is we did every night and I'd definitely be sure to get him an exclusive taste.

I didn't want to stand like this anymore so I called out to him.

"Twinkle Toes, come back and fix me. Look I'm sorry, okay. I'm just annoyed right now."

When his voice sounded right next to my ear I jumped. Curse his airbending.

"At what?"

"Just…it's a girl thing Twinkle Toes." If he knew I was frustrated because of him I'd probably never hear the end of his I'm-the-Avatar-and-I'm-doing-this-for-the-greater-good speech.

He stayed silent for a bit.

"Sit back down," he ordered gently.

I did as he said very unceremoniously. He sighed.

He sat down across from me and took hold of my foot again. I felt his hands warm up and tensed up, waiting for the pain to shoot up my leg should he touch the ache. However, after a while I was tensed for a completely different reason.

His warm hands massaged the area where the splinter had been in gentle circles. I felt my heart speed up slightly and butterflies teased my stomach.

"Relax Sifu T. It won't work if you're all tense."

Whatever he was doing I was sure it was working, just not in the way I quite expected. His fingers accidentally pressed a sensitive spot and I bit my lip to hold back a sound that threatened to expose just how much I was enjoying this. But it was the fact that I was enjoying this so much that made me feel even more uncomfortable than standing at an Indian burial ground had. I pulled out of his hands roughly.

"Toph?"

"So…training?" I asked. I stood up, no longer hurt, and walked off towards a clearing.

Earthbending would be just what I needed to get my mind off things.

"Toph?"

"Yeah?"

"You know you can tell me anything. I'm your best friend. If there's something bothering you…you can tell me."

I turned around and smiled at him, truly happy to hear those words. I mean, I knew it but it was nice hearing it nonetheless. Before I met him there was no one I trusted to talk to. Actually, the entire world didn't even know I existed until I met up with the Gang. It was a bit disconcerting to know that I could talk to these essential strangers more than I could my own parents.

I counted my blessings that I decided to lie and runaway. Iroh once said, "even the most deceitful pasts can lead to the right one." I had a feeling he was talking about Zuko and his whole Blue Spirit identity, but it also applied to me.

"I know."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Sorry it's been forever since I updated, and even then it's just a filler chap. I'll work on trying to update by Saturday but I have some family things going on so I'm just not sure. **

**Hope you enjoyed nonetheless. **

**Love: Lola and the Peaches**

**=]**


	30. Ah Hell

**Disclaimer: Did you ever hear that joke about a girl who went by the name of Lola of the Peaches who owned everything to do with ATLA? Well, here's the punch line: it was all a lie! **

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's pov**

I was laying down in Todd's front yard. The smell of recently trimmed grass was wafted to me by the slight wind every couple of seconds. It was distracting, feeling the prickly, green blades brush against my skin every time I moved. However, distraction was what I had been hoping for. I closed my eyes in order to better enjoy the warmth from the sun's shining rays.

The world was at peace in these few precious moments.

World peace wasn't necessarily about achieving an era of order. Something like that would be so boring after the first couple of hours. My world after the war was literally a testament to the fact that an era of order was going to be difficult to gain, but not entirely impossible to achieve. World peace had come to mean an era of tranquility with little to no disputes, to me.

Now disputes with the cabbage man seemed to be never ending, and I wasn't thinking about completely silencing trivial arguments between citizens (otherwise I'd be out of a job). People were bound to get rowdy whether there was a war or not (of course, the rowdiness seemed to always seemed to escalate to full on anarchy in time of war, but that was to be expected). What I was thinking, was more on the broader issues, such as foreign policies.

The Fire Nation was literally watching its every move in order to avoid stepping on the toes of other nations–heck, even their own. Right now, their people were divided by severe prejudice among each other based on their views. Those dubbed the Hawks, were literally foaming at the mouth for more war and scorned their nation who, in their eyes, submitted dishonorably to the other nations will (needless to say I was burned in effigy in more than a couple of places). Unfortunately, that was also the majority of the younger population. Among those were few Doves who praised the Fire Lord for finally bringing peace into their land and for trying to reestablish strained ties with its brother nations.

World peace, in terms of just seven years after the Great War, was not going to be easy to reach. A sense of urgency shot through my chest. I had to get back and keep the strained peace among those who had been badly hurt by the actions of soldiers under prior Fire Lord Ozai's command, as well as the divided people of the Fire Nation.

For years, Zuko sent me letters–though since I was always traveling he sent them through messenger hawks–pleading with me to help keep the peace in certain parts of his nation under the Hawks control. He could not do it himself because he was Fire Lord. If anything should happen to him–in such a strained time of peace–the world was due for more turmoil than it had already been subjected to for the last 100 years. Though the people who had lived through the war were much stronger in terms of mentality than the children just born in peace time, another mini-war would shatter them.

Now that I wasn't there to keep the peace? I didn't even want to think about it.

It was like I was abandoning the world again! And failing the world not once, but twice, would be enough to shake anyone. Toph had told me that I didn't have to worry about Todd's problem anymore, and although I trusted her with my life, I couldn't help but think that I was the one who was supposed to get us out of this mess and save the world.

I'd been so into my musings and self-berating that I hadn't notice Todd sit down next to me until he nudged my side with his shoe. My side was still kind of in pain from Toph's nicely planted punch a few nights ago, but I wasn't focused on the pain now.

"Usually, when one is in silence they're meditating to find tranquility–something that you seem to be into. However, you've been frowning for the past five minutes."

I opened my eyes against the sun, trying to open them but failing. A bright orange-red painted my vision when I shut my eyes. I tried to wipe the frown from my brow, but even I could tell I was failing miserably.

"Seriously, this whole pensive mood you have going on is kind of freaking me out," he said. "Whatever happened to mister cheerful?"

"He's on break," I replied pensively.

Todd sighed but thankfully let me be. Explaining to him that the fate of the world depends upon his friends' happiness probably wouldn't go over too well.

"Can I axe you something?"

"Ax?" I asked, my curiosity peeling away my pensive mood.

"Axe. It means ask in old, old English. But anyways, what do you and Toph do when you go out in the dark of night?"

Pensive mood forgotten, I blanched. Had Toph told him about our training sessions? Why would she do that? She wouldn't. So how would he know? He shouldn't. I battled for what seemed a bit too long of a pause about telling him the truth. If he knew, he might actually refuse any of my help. If he refused my help, then how in the world could Toph and I get back? If the universe had the answer, I'd appreciate a cryptic sign every now and then.

Well, the whole _how would Toph and I leave if I didn't help him_ was mostly at the forefront of my reasons for not telling him about our training sessions. The other reason, one that scared me more than the first, was that he'd get scared. Honestly, there were no people around who understood what it was to fight with the elements. And I'm not talking about fighting with a blowtorch. I mean pure energy. No one in this world seemed to have that ability so my fear wasn't completely unfounded. If he saw Toph and me fight, then he'd no doubt fear us.

"We just hang out." I hoped he didn't see past my guard.

"Doing what?"

"Stuff."

"Look, if you guys are doing something illegal I'm not going to turn you in. If anything I'd give you a clap on the back for being able to get away with it for so long. I just want to make sure that you guys know how dangerous it is to go out at night."

I nodded.

"I know. But you should know that Toph is a great fighter. And I happen to have the skills to talk myself out of almost every situation."

Todd snorted. "Sure you do."

I smiled slightly before dropping my lips.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" he asked.

I could only assume he meant to ask me what my problem was.

"I miss my home."

Somehow, the words carried much more weight than they had when I had just vaguely held that thought in my mind as the weeks here progressed. A small tear in my heart grew bigger every day I was away from Appa and Momo, and all of my friends. I honestly couldn't help my frown now.

It wasn't even just my friends I missed. Resonating through my mind was the clatter of wooden street cars that jittered every which way on the cobblestone and dirt paths. Mechanical cars rumbled like they were angry at the person who woke them up to drive somewhere.

I missed all the trees! When I opened my eyes to this world, there were buildings upon buildings in drab colors with only a few bright ones dotting the scenery to give it some much needed pop. Where was the nature?

Well, not all parts of this world were horrible. I was truly learning some interesting things, but my pensive home-sick mood jaded my eyes.

"You'll get there soon," he said. For a moment it felt like he was encouraging me in my pursuit to find out ways to ensure him and his friends' happiness. Then he tacked on, "Isn't your visa about to expire soon?"

I tried hard to keep my face neutral and fought tooth and nail to keep my hand from reaching up to scratch the back of my head in guilt.

Having no idea what he meant, I answered his question as vaguely as possible. "Sure."

"See," he replied, obviously happy that I had reached some conclusion. "You'll be back before you know it. Just don't leave without saying goodbye. We'd all be sorry sticklers if you did."

This time, my small smile broadened as I nodded. "I will," I promised.

As he went back inside, I could feel my pensive mood lighten significantly. I looked up at the sky. Of course I knew that my world was not in the sky, but I couldn't very well talk to a lamppost. Bright blue skies were my metaphorical windows to communicating with my world.

"Soon," I whispered in the wind. I'd be back soon.

* * *

When Toph and I met up at the grounds for training a scandalous idea formed in my mind. Now I knew that Toph was up for anything that offered a good work out, but what I was thinking of proposing might push her to new heights she'd never seen (literally).

So it was with an anxious heart pounding in my chest that I walked up to her. Toph quickly became aware that there was something wrong. Her laid-back demeanor seemed to tense for bad news just the slightest bit as she detected my heartbeat.

"You okay?" she asked.

I nodded, forgetting for a moment she couldn't see it.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to…well, get down to the training grounds by another method."

Her face scrunched up in confusion as she stared blankly at my chest.

"What other way is there?"

I knew that Toph was not one for surprises. Being blind and still having the ability to see, well, she liked to know what was coming when it was coming.

"Well, I was kind of thinking of…flying down…" I waited anxiously for her dynamic refusal, but was pleasantly surprised when she said:

"Fine. But only this once," she gritted out the stipulation.

For a moment, my eyebrows touched my hairline. "Really?" I asked incredulously. A part of me knew not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it's voice apparently didn't matter at the moment.

"Are you trying to give me the opportunity to change my mind?"

I promptly shut up and strode towards her, trying to restrain my hops of glee that threatened to burst out. There was no logic behind my wanting to fly. I just knew that it was something I really wanted to do.

"Arms around my neck," I instructed. Toph had ridden on top of my glider before, and she made sure to promptly express her thoughts on that as soon as the battle with Azula during the first invasion throughout the eclipse was over with.

I figured that if she held onto something more solid than a small, rectangular piece of ancient wood it would calm her down a bit. She locked her arms solidly around my neck and for a moment I feared that she would inadvertently choke me if she felt I was going to let her fall.

"When I jump, lock your legs behind my knees. I'll be able to support you better."

"Are you calling me fat?"

I let out a small laugh. "No, I'm calling my staff ancient."

For some reason, she started sniggering and sounding as if she was trying to desperately hold back a bark of laughter.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head, the smell of her hair wafting into my nose.

"I have been hanging out with Skeeter too much," she offered as an excuse.

I wondered when she'd gotten the chance to hang out with him, but it wasn't any of my business.

"Okay. You ready?"

Her laughter subsided immediately as she took in her situation. I heard her gulp.

"Just get it over with."

I considered not going through with my plan, but there was something about her body language that told me if I stopped now, out of concern for her, I would be offending her. She was literally putting aside her fear of flying just for my silly whim, so if I stopped now it'd be like I was belittling her. I respected her too much for that–especially because of what she was doing.

"I won't let you fall," I promised, a bit of iron in my tone.

She said nothing but nodded as I inched us over to the edge, about five feet away.

Suddenly, I felt a tugging on every fiber of my body. It was like being pulled in all directions at one time.

"Aang?" Toph asked, with a slight tremble in her voice. "What's happening?"

Apparently she could feel it too.

"We're getting pulled into the Spirit World," I concluded in wonder.

"Ah hell," were the last words out of her body's mouth as both us became a ghostly blue-white.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I am so sorry that I have not continued with this story in…months. (Oh man that hurt to type.)**

**School, as I've always said, comes first and this new semester seems to have saddled me with a massive amount of homework and tests that I've been stressing to pass with hundreds (though I'll take an eighty at the very least). **

**Honestly, I should have really thought out the consequences of taking 3 AP classes this year, but I, unfortunately, live to challenge myself. Yeah, I'm definitely setting myself up for failure there. (Wow, I'm really sarcastic right now.)**

**Anyways, I've been working like an hour or so every day when I have time on all my stories, so please bear with me while my new semester screws me over. **

**I am trying to advance this story but all I seem to be doing now is giving fillers, but trust me when I say that I have a reason for the fillers. **

**I sincerely hope I haven't turned you guys off from the story because of the lack of chapter updates. I hope you bear with me and have enjoyed this chapter. **

**As a side note: I'm taking AP Language & Composition, which is basically all writing all the time, with a few text analysis on the side. I love it! I'm really learning a lot on how to structure and organize my essays, and I am definitely going to try to use more of that on my chapters while still keeping who I am as a writer. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=] **


	31. Stupid Monkey

**Disclaimer: I so do not own the Avatar.**

**Read on…**

* * *

I was jarred into a world of colors and I shielded my eyes that were not used to such scenery – any scenery – in the real world. This time, once my eyes were adjusted to the brightness, we were in a forest with trees as tall as mountains surrounding us in thick groves. A wind blew slightly through my long bangs and I put them back in order to better see my surroundings. Twinkle Toes looked around and immediately charged to the nearest tree and began climbing it.

"You know that if you fall you can't bend yourself a pocket of air?" I called out after him.

"I know," he yelled back. He was already halfway up the tree.

"He's like a freaking monkey," I said to myself.

I sat down on the ground, intent on not joining him…ever. Looking around, which felt really weird as I usually kept my head in one direction, there was no other man, woman, or Kop (I think that was the name of that caterpillar or whatever it was that Twinkle Toes refused to let me visit). It was just me and Twinkle Toes.

I fell back, feeling the grass on my skin. The grass here wasn't as itchy as the grass in the other world had been. In fact, it felt like pure silk gliding against my skin. I closed my eyes, savoring the feel of it. Then I heard a scream.

My body was immediately in alert for something to happen. I looked wildly around for Twinkle Toes, a bit of panic racing through my heart since I couldn't sense him through my feet.

When I located him he was hanging onto a branch by his arms and swinging softly back and forth.

"Hey!" I called out. "I told you not to fall!" I tried to sound angry, but a bit of the prior panic I felt crept into my voice.

"I'm not," he yelled back. "The view is just amazing!"

I heaved an exasperated sigh and looked around for a rock to lob at him. Then I remembered that he wouldn't be able to float down like the airbender he was and reluctantly decided against giving him a concussion. Hmm…could he get a concussion as a spirit? Well, I figured there were better ways of finding out.

I walked away – not because I was angry at him – but in order to calm myself down. A path opened up for me between the trees and I took a moment to pause.

"Um…" I whispered to them as their roots were curled inward, giving me maximum space, "thank you?"

I felt so stupid for talking to the trees but I figured it couldn't hurt to be polite to things in the Spirit World. When I heard indiscernible whispers my feet stopped cold. I'd heard the same kind when we were sucked into that vortex. The voiced seemed to be fading and when I could just barely hear them my feet unfroze. I followed them carefully through the myriad of trees that seemed to create a labyrinth around me. Pretty soon I was hitting dead ends and open spaces where ancient treasures of all shapes and sizes lay forgotten.

I moved faster and faster, feeling like I was catching up to something that was only just slipping through my callused fingertips. For some reason I felt I just had to catch it. It was as if my life depended on this. I was afraid it was.

The voices led me to a series of bent trees in the shape of a door. Warily, I took a step inside before I felt a hand on shoulder. I turned around, bringing my leg up with me as I did so.

Twinkle Toes was so lucky he had fast reflexes or I would have sent him flying back to the…where was the labyrinth? Behind him stood the tall trees that had opened their path to me, their roots were no longer dotting the landscape as it had prior to my entrance. When he let go of my foot I heard him ask something but I was too busy gaping at a clearing behind me to pay attention to him. Where was the door?

I shook my head. Something had taken me out here…but what? The thought of something sinister crept into my mind and I involuntarily shivered.

Finally I heard his voice, "Toph? Hey T…are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Trying to forget my fears, I raised my eyebrow, "What does that look like?"

"Oh, right. Um…well I've never seen one up close but I think they look like a person or animal just more…transparent and blueish," he offered as explanation, still looking at me as if I was going to fall any minute.

"Do they talk?"

He shrugged. "I told you I've never met one before."

I nodded, not really satisfied with his explanation but it was better than freaking out over whispers that called out to me.

"Did something happen?" he asked. He walked towards me, holding onto my shoulders. I forced myself to stop shaking.

I shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "I'm going insane. What else is new?" I tried to add in a small smile but instead a grimace pulled at my lips.

His face took on a serious look. "What happened?"

"Whispers."

He looked around, straining his large ears to capture some sound but he could catch none. I shrugged.

"Guess they don't like you," I teased.

His face told me this was no longer a teasing matter.

"Did they tell you anything?"

I shook my head. "Mumbles were all I heard. I couldn't catch the words."

He nodded, though he looked disappointed. Indignation flared up in my chest, igniting involuntary words.

"Well I'm sorry," I said with a large amount of sarcasm. "I didn't know I was supposed to decipher every little whisper in the freaking world," I huffed. When I looked up at his shocked face I covered my own. "Sorry," I said. "I just…I don't know actually."

The Spirit World was messing with my head and I was not enjoying it. Unfortunately Aang was forced to bear the brunt of my frustration. I dropped my head onto his chest. It was strange how I couldn't feel his heart beat unless I really concentrated. He put his arms around me. His strong fingers rubbed my back in gentle soothing motions.

I closed my eyes, wondering why in the world the Spirit World was messing with me. Why was I the only one who could hear the whispers? Why was I the only one who had to go through labyrinths? If so, then why? Ugh, this was just like that time in the Fire Nation with that freaky puppet master bloodbender hag. I was the only one who could hear the screams underneath the mountain, but then again those screams had been produced by humans – not otherworldly creatures.

"I'm sorry too. It's just that I'm trying so hard to get us back, but I can't do that when you're the only one able to hear the…things that got us here in the first place."

"I guess there's a new Avatar in town," I said lightly with a smirk on my face.

He pulled back to look at me and smiled. "A prettier one, who sorely lacks manners."

I punched his gut, softer than usual. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

He grinned wider. "I said you were pretty but lacked manners. Oh, and I apparently forgot to mention deaf."

I lunged at him, but he sensed me coming and started running away. I laughed maniacally. He should have known better than to run from me on land.

The trees didn't actually move for me this time so when I first started running I had to catch myself from tripping over their roots, losing some ground. However, I wasn't one to be outdone so I picked up my feet and ran after him with renewed energy.

Our laughter and taunts seemed to bounce off our surroundings, almost like the trees were throwing them back. It made me realize just how happy we both sounded when we weren't burdened by saving the world and whatnot.

Running through the forest this time, I didn't feel like my life depended on it. I felt light and powerful as I reached for the back to Aang's shirt. He slipped through my fingers and he freaking knew it! He laughed at me as he picked up his speed.

"Twinkle Toes! Just wait till I get my hands on you!" I screamed with fake vengeance.

"I would but you're taking too long!" He yelled back.

Even without his Avatar powers he was fast so I decided it was time for some underhanded measures. Now normally I am all for using such tactics when there is an enormous payoff afterwards, but for the most part I liked using my own strengths to win something. And today I was going to win against the Avatar, which is like the ultimate win in the universe.

When I was getting ready to fall on this rather prominent branch, I actually didn't see a small one jutting out a few feet before the large one. So my plan to _fake_ fall miserably on my face wasn't as fake as I hoped it would be. When life gives you lemons…

You fall on your face.

"Geez!" I said through gritted teeth as the bottoms of my palms caught my fall. The fall hurt as much as I thought it would.

Aang came around just as I thought he would when he didn't hear me chasing after him like I had a butcher knife in my hand.

"Toph?" he asked, working his way around two trees impossibly close together. How he had ever gotten through that was a mystery to me and would probably always be.

"She's a little busy picking dirt out of her teeth, please call back later," I said, sitting up and wiping my hair from my mouth.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, coming closer.

I nodded, finally getting my stubborn hair out of the way. I knew there was a reason I wore a bun. His compassionate nature gave way to his naïve exterior as he came in closer, missing the smirk I hurriedly put away as his elegant fingers stretched out to help me up. I looked away from him as I lightly grabbed his hand before quickly turning my head. My smirk was beyond my control as I pulled him down to the ground with me and proceeded to pin him down.

I pulled his arm across his chest and pinned it down there but that gave him an opening to use the one I hadn't pinned down to try to shove my shoulder away. Satisfied that his wrist was not going to move from the ground I used my free hand to pin his other wrist. He waved it around fanatically to try to keep it out of my reach. Granted his arm was longer than my reach so I couldn't even graze his wrist but I did manage to snag his elbow. I pinned that one above his head in triumph.

"Gotcha!" I said with a laugh.

When I looked down at him to gloat over my win, everything seemed to just slow down. I'd never really seen him from this close up before. I had never been able to. Just as I had never been in contact with him like I was right now. Where my hands were pinning him to the ground a circle of heat flared up as I looked into his smoky eyes.

And I started laughing.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I just had surgery yesterday and was on vacation for a while. **

**Anyways, I'm going to try and update sooner. **

**Hope you guys enjoyed. **

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	32. Back Home?

**Disclaimer: I so do not own the Avatar.**

**Read on…**

* * *

**Aang's pov**

If I was ever guaranteed a serious look from the woman on top of me, I would tell her that she was really beautiful. She'd never really believe it though. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Toph was often blind in the real world. She really was, though. Beautiful, I mean. I had to bite my tongue to say anything. Then I really did bite my tongue when she suddenly started laughing, scaring me a bit.

"W-what's so funny?" I asked a bit labored, what – with a not feather light Toph lying down on my chest constricting my lungs and such.

She kept laughing, trying to catch her breath and form actual words that didn't sound slurred.

"Seriously Toph, why are you laughing? Should I laugh too?" I asked, getting a little bit concerned that something about the situation was extraordinarily funny and I wasn't getting it.

She started shaking and rolled off of me as she continued to laugh her head off at something. I nudged her side with my foot.

"Hello? Toph in the house?"

Her chest heaved as she took rapid deep breaths to calm herself down. She held her hands up in the air.

"I beat the Avatar!" she chanted.

I huffed a breath and shook my head. "You did not! You tricked me!"

"No, no, no. I had planned to trick you but I ended up just winning due to my winning strategy and your need to save everyone. So – hah! I beat the Avatar!"

She jumped up and pumped her fist in the air, congratulating herself. I got up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist, bent on making her twirl till she puked. Unfortunately I didn't count on me getting dizzy so quickly. We ended up falling on our sides, our clothes unstained by the silky grass.

We were both intoxicated with our silliness that I had almost failed to notice that it was getting darker in the Spirit World. Well, I supposed it was time to get back.

Toph pushed my arm. "Hey, what's up?"

"We should probably get back."

"Yeah, if we're not back they'll probably miss us."

She pivoted in the sitting position and held her hands out to meditate with me. She raised an eyebrow.

"Well aren't you coming?"

I scratched the back of my head. "I just wanted to ask you a question," I said nervously as I took a seat next to her.

She looked at me like I was stupid to ask her if I could ask her a question. I probably was. Toph was as blunt as a rock shaped by the harsh erosion of a quick flowing river. "Ask away then."

"Um…" I looked down at the ground, for some reason afraid to look at her face, "why did you agree to come with me by flying? You hate it."

She picked her teeth, muffling her speech a little. "I don't hate it. It's not my ideal method of transportation but I really don't hate it." She flicked out some extra dirt she found. "I agreed because I trust you not to let me fall."

Out of all the answers I envisioned – "it seemed faster that way", "I wasn't in the mood to argue", "I thought I'd punch you while we were in the air to test your reflexes" – I honestly hadn't expected that one or the impact it'd have an a vital organ in my chest.

I mean, I knew we trusted each other. After all we've been through, saving the world and such, it was expected to happen. But to hear her say it with a straight face, well it made me feel special. Then I remembered that she probably felt the same for our whole gang. I felt the same. They'd saved my life on numerous occasions. If it wasn't for them there were a lot of times I could have been killed. Well I did technically die that one time so…yeah, I would have stayed dead if it hadn't been for Katara and the water from the oasis.

So I shouldn't really feel like Toph had just given me the compliment of a lifetime. I tried to wipe the wondered smile on my face.

"Okay," I said cheerfully, clapping my hands for effect. "Off we go into another world to take over and more."

Toph sniggered. "That has to be the worst poem I ever heard. Sokka could do better than that – in fact, he has. You remember his visit to the fancy haiku club?"

I looked offended for a second before falling into amusement over just all that Sokka had suffered that night.

"Getting kicked out because you added a syllable seems a bit harsh doesn't it?"

Toph nodded. "Yeah but people take their art seriously, you know? Well, some people. And I did tell you I hated cities because of these snobby people, right? They take things so seriously it's almost ridiculous."

I treaded carefully with this subject. Any form of civilization was touchy with her after all she had seen in her childhood. While I sympathized with her, I did think that her view was a bit prejudiced. Before I locked myself in an iceberg, I made friends with people in all nations of all classes. Most of the people Toph would consider snobby were real loyal friends to me who I enjoyed being around. Then again, a lot has changed in the past hundred years or more considering where exactly we had ended up.

"Well, it's not like they knew anything about the real world. Their life was all they had."

She narrowed her eyes on me and only then did I realize I sounded like I was defending them. I sort of was.

"Ignorance isn't an excuse. If they weren't busy with their lives they might have taken care to notice that the world was engulfed in a freaking war," she sneered. I had to give it to her. She had a point. Then again we had already proven that the Dai Li were purposely keeping people from knowing the true escalation of war. I told her as much and she pursed her lips. That wasn't a good sign.

"Okay. You got me there but still, didn't you say that some scholars you talked to looked like they knew something about the Fire Nation? They could have done something."

I nodded. "They could have but they were scared. The Dai Li weren't someone you messed with."

"Unless you're mentally insane," she smirked.

I smiled. "Guilty."

She kicked my shin too fast for me to block.

"You know, this abuse you dish out to people seems to stem from a deeper, psychological problem in your noggin. You should look into that. Can I recommend a therapist? Anger management? A cookie?"

She laughed and rolled her eyes.

"And your constant need to sound pathologically smart and sophisticated seems to stem from stupidity. Can I recommend a fist to your noggin to jumpstart it?" she countered back with cool tones.

I shook my head. "I'm good there. No need to make his handsome face suffer unnecessarily."

"Handsome? Oh please. Who told you that? Anna? Heidi?"

I gave her a cool look. "I can see it in their eyes. They don't have to say anything." I raised my hands to rest behind my head in gallant nonchalant.

She snorted. "Good thing I'm blind because I'm liable to throw up at those looks."

I mockingly glared at her. "I think I see you turning green with envy," I taunted.

She rested her elbows heavily on her knees. "You wish," she stressed.

I did. But I didn't say it. I don't actually know why I thought it in the first place.

"Have you ever been jealous of someone?" I asked, trying to seem more curious than I actually was.

She looked thoughtful for a second before nodding. "Sure."

I expected some follow up but she gave me none. My eyes narrowed in suspicion just as warm wind started to pick up and moved her bangs to cover her eyes. I pursed my lips and shook my foot up and down in impatience. I clucked my tongue against the roof of my mouth, first every five seconds but then I started getting into the rhythm.

As the wind sifted through the leaves the rhythm was getting swampy, reminding me of Tho and Due and Slim the Catgator. The sort of camaraderie we shared over a flickering fire was nice. It was during times like that I believed that the world could be a better place. I just kind of had to get back to it to make sure it stayed that way.

"Would you stop that," Toph commanded.

"Why I see no need to," I added a little cluck at the end to emphasize my point.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Whatever. Didn't you say we needed to go?"

I nodded as we held hands and closed our eyes so we could both go back. Suddenly I started hearing a faint murmur. Toph's hands tightened in mine to give me alert to the noises about a second before I heard them. I thought it was the wind through the leaves but something about them made me think twice. I think they were trying to say something but no matter how hard I strained my ears I couldn't hear them.

I opened my eyes and couldn't contain the gasp that let my air escape. We were both submerged underwater, glowing as though we were about to be transported somewhere. No, I screamed in my mind. We still had so much to do! I didn't know if I had actually helped them or not. What about their problems? No, I couldn't go back now.

Not yet.

The voices grew so loud in my ears while at the same time just murmuring in the softest way. I let my hand slacken in Toph and expected her to let me go but she just held on tighter. My head was pounding and I couldn't see her anymore. But I could feel her strong hand in mine until the world fell away from me.

* * *

_You cannot keep messing with the flow of time…_

_Well, I'm sorry, did you have any other ideas?_

_It was a good idea…well not the best I've heard and with little actual thought in execution._

_Thank you! Wait a second…was that an insult?_

_Good job. _

_Well I just wanted to try it out._

_You did and now you're done messing with them. _

When I opened my eyes it took a while to take in my surroundings. Was I back in the Spirit World? Everything looked green. But the green was wrong. It was dirtier. I blinked several times before looking around with lucid eyes.

Oh right, we were in the swamp before we…what were we doing? Before I could try to think back a cough brought me back to the present. Wait, weren't we also in the Spirit World? We were probably still in the Spirit World. There were a lot of swampy areas where this world was concerned.

"Toph?"

I got out of the shallow shore I had been lying in, only to see my best friend crawling on the ground, trying to get a foothold.

"Toph!" I called out, trudging out of the muck without bothering to clean myself off. "Hey Toph, what's wrong?"

She stood up and smiled at me. The full force of it making me stumble back.

"I'm blind!" she yelled, both her hands waving in front of her face. "I'm blind and I can see you!"

I took a moment to process this. "Um…isn't that kind of a contradiction?"

She shook her head and then launched forward to shake me. "We're back! It's our world again!"

I looked at her like she was crazy, not that she could see me of course.

"We never left," I assured her.

* * *

**A/N:**

**Now this chapter may seem sort of premature but just trust me if you please.**

**I do hope that you guys enjoyed it and are waiting for the next one.**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches**

**=]**


	33. The Trouble's Just Begun

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Avatar.**

**Read on…**

* * *

**Toph's pov**

"What do you mean we never left? Weren't we…oh man, then I just had the trippiest dream." I rubbed my head, feeling only the slightest bit of pain behind my eyes. Didn't we get knocked out in the swamp? The rest of the dream was pretty fuzzy but I had the vaguest sense that water somehow came into play. Maybe I drowned. Not literally of course, seeing as how I was thoroughly alive and kicking. Either way, I had the weirdest dream that we ended up in an alternate universe where we were trying our hardest to get back or something or other but we had to help everyone we encountered to restore order…blah, blah.

But man, it was so real. Didn't the fall from our world to the future or wherever that place was break my arm? Bending said appendage I came to the conclusion that it must have been just a dream.

"Me too," Twinkle Toes said, scratching his bald head.

I turned my body toward his. "Did I break my arm in yours?" As soon as the words left my mouth I smacked my head. That sounded so incredibly stupid. Before I rescinded that stupid question he answered.

"Yeah you did actually. And you let your hair down. I think you even let someone cut it," he said with the same surprised, awkward tone.

I reached up to touch my hair. Patting around my head I concluded that I had indeed let it down, but it must have been from the fall. After all it hadn't been as secure as I wanted it before we landed and then when we crashed it must have just jarred loose.

Hair….

"Hey Twinkles," I called out with hesitation. "You're still…pretty bald aren't you?"

He chuckled before abruptly stopping and checking his head. I walked around him, loving the feel of vibrations I gathered from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. A smile grazed my face before I could stop it. In the last part of my dream I'd been in the Spirit World able to see. It had been strange to be granted eye sight. I never wanted to experience it again. I mean, I guess it was okay but I'd lived for far too long blind. Blindness accompanied me since birth, forcing me to make my way in the world without sight.

"Yeah, still bald. Still tall. Taller than you," he added with a snicker.

"Ha…not funny," I deadpanned.

I sidled up to him and poked his chest hard. "Being tall is nothing if you still can't beat me," I informed him. And it was true. I'd beaten a millions guys feet taller than me who thought they were all so big and bad.

"You're right," he agreed too quickly. "But it still irks you," he said with a smirk eminent on his face.

I put my poker face on. Of course Twinkle Toes would know just how to piss me off. It didn't mean I had to give him the satisfaction of showing him just how much.

"Want me to show you how much it irks me?" I threatened before suddenly being engulfed in a bear hug.

When my feet left the ground I felt a familiar rush of panic make it way through my veins. It was involuntary, really. Whenever all parts of my body left the ground I felt vulnerable, but only for a brief moment when I knew I was in good hands.

He let me down and I stumbled. "Sorry," he offered. "I just…needed a hug?" he chuckled nervously.

Before I could ask him what in the world had jumped into him and jerked his arms around me, I suddenly remembered a very important detail.

"Where's Appa? And Momo?" I missed my furry friends but I was pretty sure now that Aang was alerted to their absence that he'd most likely freak out.

I was right. He paced around for a few frenzied moments before it finally clicked. "We are in the _swamp_!"

I applauded him. "Great job! Now, where is your nose located?" I mocked.

He flicked me on the head and I punched him in the gut.

"Just give me a second to find them, okay?" he grumbled.

I mock bowed. "Of course, Avatar. Whatever it is you wish," I said in a chirpy voice, similar to the sounds his fan club made whenever he landed in a populated area.

Sitting down on my lovely ground, I picked at my toes while he did his Avatar thing.

Man, even though everything was just a dream, I could feel my soul come alive now that I was back. In my dream I honestly missed the sounds of the earth and animals. The city - even here - took a lot out of me; so that weird futuristic city in my dreams was slowly becoming too much to handle on a purely superficial basis. I needed the outdoors and nature. But all of that paled in comparison to just feeling the earth under my feet, feeling the signs of life all around me that had become an ingrained part of me. I didn't really believe in magic but I had to say that the feeling I got from it was just that.

"Got it," he announced proudly.

"You know," I said smugly as I got up to follow him through the twists and turns of the swamp. "You never answered me when I asked you where your nose was. Was that too hard for you?"

He groaned a sigh and, with a smirk, I let him push me in the direction of our furry friends.

* * *

When we found them over by the Swamp tribe's camp, we immediately had to find ways to pry ourselves out of their hospitalities. Unfortunately, we were both too famous for our own good now and it would be "their honor" to cook us up some giant bugs. Well, if they tasted good I had no qualms.

After eating the meal – which was surprisingly good if only slightly rough in taste – we were both too tired to do much other than fall on Appa's tail. I couldn't remember a time when I grew bone tired just walking through the swamp. Sure I'd been slightly fatigued, but this sort of exhaustion felt like I'd just taken on the second best earth benders in the world, nonstop for a week. Reflexively my eyes closed.

Aang managed to mumble beside me, "M'nigh Toph."

I gave a strangled grunt as sleep quickly shut off my brain. Or at least I thought it had.

Dreams for me were different than dreams for people who could see. I could see nothing of what - say Katara - could see in her dreams like colors and faces. Instead I had dreams of feelings and voices.

Except for tonight. When I'd passed out I was hoping to be mentally dead till morning when we'd clear out of the swamp and back to our respective homes. Then I heard a burbling sound like water boiling in a pot to cook up some Bug Part Soup (yes, the name is an extremely accurate description of the dish we ate that night but I will say again that it was ok food). I could hear drip, drip, drip as if water was falling into a pond. As soon as the drops hit the water, the softest, most enticing whispers sounded for a split second before falling silent.

Underneath my feet I could feel silky grass and the whisperings of life. A sigh here. A trot there. The flowers reaching for the sun that bore down gently on the land. I also stretched upwards, popping my joints in a much needed release of tension. Today had been hard but luckily this dream was turning out to be pretty peaceful.

Just as I sunk down into the warm ground with the grass acting as my personal blanket, a voice called out to me.

"You there! Get out of the flowerbeds. Jeez give them some breathing room," called out a grouchy, nasal tone.

I jumped about a foot in the air. How did she sneak up on me? I mean, sure I couldn't see her but I hadn't even been able to sense her. Who was she? Or was it a he? I opened my mouth to say something back but someone else interrupted me. This time the voice was softer, almost like a teacher's voice.

"Please forgive us for not granting you vision. It takes up much energy to do so and I figured you might not have been particularly inclined to see anyways," she ended with soft laughter.

I narrowed my brows at the direction of the voice. Was she talking to me?

"I suppose I'll find my breathing room elsewhere," grouched the nasal tone. I heard a strange sound coming from its direction. It was almost like roots being pulled from the ground. Not that I could _see_ it.

"Please do," said a mild male tone from the same direction as the grouchy nasal woman.

A _harrumph_, was her snarky remark. Then I couldn't feel her there anymore. It was just me and two other bodies I couldn't see or touch. Needless to say, I was a bit out of my element here which put me on the defensive.

"Now that she's gone – whatd'ya say to a little swim guys?" asked the male tone in a carefree way.

I heard a sigh. "That is not why we have gathered," said the voice of Avatar Roku.

I scratched my thigh. "Avatar Roku? What are you doing in my dream?" He seemed to be appearing a lot in my dreams lately. Maybe it was the fact that Aang and I had landed in a creepy, magical swamp.

They all laughed and it ruffled my feathers. Was I missing something?

"I have come to apologize for the sudden departure you took from the future."

I nodded absently, their laughter still sort of pecking at my brain. When the full weight of his words hit me five seconds later, I felt like falling over. Luckily I didn't.

"Wait! – that was real?" I shrieked.

I could just feel hands fly up to their ears.

"Are you sure you're not an airbender?" the carefree voice said mildly.

"Excuse me?" asked the teacher with slight offense.

"You know what I mean," cool guy said to cover up his "offensive" question.

My hands flew up as if to stop something, but what that was I had no idea at the moment. I was barely getting past the whole: "Yeah that dream you and Aang both had was – surprise – real. You did break your arm. You did meet future people. And you also–" whoa Toph. No need to delve into that pot of worms (feelings, actually) just yet.

For a long time nothing came out of my mouth. I heard them express concern but Avatar Roku told them to just give me a moment to gather my thoughts. When I finally "gathered" a semblance of my thoughts I grew suspicious.

"Why is it that you are the one apologizing for the "sudden departure"?" I asked without a tone.

The teacher voiced her two coins, "It is really all of us who should be apologizing."

"Hey," the cool guy said, "don't look at me. I wasn't entirely up for this plan you know."

"It was a collective agreement," Avatar Roku settled. I could feel his essence, his power, come closer to me. "We were the ones who sent you and Avatar Aang to the future and also had to bring you back to the past."

Again I regarded him with suspicion. Avatar or not, I wasn't about to bow in reverence to him and agree to whatever he said like Aang had to. I mean, life would be a little strange if the Avatar started rebelling against himself. Normally I'd have to stifle a laugh at that thought but right now frustration was building alongside my confusion.

"Why?" I bluntly asked, ignoring the pinpricks on my neck that signaled someone looking at me intensely. It wasn't a creepy feeling, but it was strange. I ignored the direction it came from and focused on Avatar Roku.

A sad sigh sounded from where the cool guy last stood. What did he have to be sad about and why won't he stop staring?

"Well, that is a very good question Toph," he said evasively. Honestly Roku, wasn't he supposed to have all the answers?

"Do not tease her," the teacher admonished him. "If she's anything like Kyoshi I would not want to deal with her when she's angry."

Kyoshi? That Earth Avatar? How would they know her? Well, I assumed, shouldn't everyone in the Spirit World know each other? What else is there to do for an eternity anyways?

"You see, Toph," Avatar Roku finally relented, "Avatar Aang and you share a very special bond."

I snorted. "Yeah, he's my best friend."

A bit of an awkward silence passed. "Yes," he agreed. "But sometimes friends like you and Avatar Aang need a push in the right direction."

I crossed my arms. "And just what sort of "direction" are you planning for us to take?"

"Toph," the cool guy spoke. For a brief second I had wondered if it was really him addressing me since his tone had grown so tender it would have brought tears to weaker eyes. "You have exactly what Aang lacks in some respects and you have the ability to bring out the best in him–the worse too. It hurts to see the young Avatar pine for what cannot be his. It clouds his judgement. This is why we interfered. A little push was all you really needed. He might not understand just yet, but that's your job."

My lips pressed together in a tight line. Surely they were not asking me what I thought they were asking me.

"Oh, you know, you can't possibly be that angry at us," he continued, gaining some of his cool tone back. "If you think about it, it has been a long time coming."

I didn't answer. Honestly, I was a bit too shocked to answer. Then I heard it. A stream was rushing out at me. Before it had a chance to touch me, I woke up.

Feeling Appa's warm fur beneath me, I tried my hardest not to wake anyone else up, like Aang. I had no idea what time it was but it was either early in the morning or late at night judging by the crisp air. When I heard Aang's chipper hello from above me, I cursed the morning.

Moving quickly so as to leave without alerting the Swamp tribe, I crawled to where Appa's saddle was and plopped myself down.

"Toph?" Aang asked in that annoyingly caring voice of his. "Is something wrong?"

I bit my tongue to keep from yelling at him. After all, it was the intrusion of his past lives that were the cause of my anger, not Aang himself. At least not directly.

"I had a nightmare," I answered evasively. Before he asked I spoke up, "Care to drop me off at the Fire Nation?"

"I was planning to head over there anyways. Last night I was given a letter by Hugh. I couldn't read it in the dark and I was too tired to deal with it honestly, but this morning I read it. It wasn't good."

Ignoring any lingering hard feelings I tried to focus on just how troubled his tone turned. "What was it? What did it say?"

"The Fire Nation is in trouble."

* * *

**A/N**

**I'm so sorry it's taken me forever to post this chapter but school got started and I've decided to participate in quite a bit of activities so I'll try my best to post the continuation of this story as fast as I can. Let's pray it doesn't take me four years this time.**

**Hope you enjoyed.**

**Love: Lola of the Peaches.**


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